THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

HEW  YORK  • BOSTON  • CHICAGO  • DALLAS 
ATLANTA  • SAN  FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  & CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  • BOMBAY  • CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 
Duke  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/opiummonopoly01lamo 


Wrapper  of  packet  of  opium,  as  sold  in  licensed  opium  shops  of  Singa- 
oore.  Each  packet  contains  enough  opium  for  about  six  smokes. 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


BY 

ELLEN  N.  LA  MOTTE 

AUTHOR  OF  “ BACKWASH  OF  WAR,”  “ PEKING  DUST,” 

“civilization,”  etc. 


117532 

fork 

THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

1920 


All  rights  reserved 


COPKIUGHT,  1020 

By  the  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.  Published  January,  1920. 


/ it  t 


So- 


“ If  this  was  our  battle,  if  these  were  our  ends. 
Which  were  our  enemies,  which  were  our  friends?” 

Witter  Bynner,  in  The  Nation. 


1.17532 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

Introduction ix 

I.  Great  Britain’s  Opium  Monopoly i 

11.  The  Indian  Opium  Monopoly 6 

III.  Japan  as  an  Opium  Distributor 1 1 

IV.  Singapore i8 

V.  The  Straits  Settlements  Opium  Commis- 
sion  23 

VI.  Opium  in  Siam 26 

VII.  Hongkong 30 

VIII.  Sarawak 35 

IX.  Shanghai 37 

X.  India 44 

XI.  Turkey  AND  Persia 54 

XII.  Mauretius 56 

XIII.  British  North  Borneo 58 

XIV.  British  Guiana 62 

XV.  History  of  the  Opium  Trade  in  China.  . 65 

XVI.  Conclusion 73 


I 


INTRODUCTION 


We  first  became  interested  in  the  opium  traffic 
during  a visit  to  the  Far  East  in  1916.  Like  most 
Americans,  we  had  vaguely  heard  of  this  trade, 
and  had  still  vaguer  recollections  of  a war  between 
Great  Britain  and  China,  which  took  place  about 
seventy-five  years  ago,  known  as  the  Opium  War. 
From  time  to  time  we  had  heard  of  the  opium 
trade  as  still  flourishing  in  China,  and  then  later 
came  reports  and  assurances  that  it  was  all  over, 
accompanied  by  newspaper  pictures  of  bonfires 
of  opium  and  opium  pipes.  Except  for  these  oc- 
casional and  incidental  memories,  we  had  neither 
knowledge  of,  nor  interest  in  the  subject.  On  our 
way  out  to  Japan,  in  the  July  of  1916,  we  met  a 
young  Hindu  on  the  boat,  who  was  outspoken  and 
indignant  over  the  British  policy  of  establishing  the 
opium  trade  in  India,  as  one  of  the  departments  of 
the  Indian  Government.  Of  all  phases  of  British 
rule  in  India,  it  was  this  policy  which  excited  him 
most,  and  which  caused  him  most  ardently  to  wish 
that  India  had  some  form  of  self-government, 
some  voice  in  the  control  and  management  of  her 
own  affairs,  so  that  the  country  could  protect 
itself  from  this  evil.  Without  this,  he  declared,  his 
country  was  powerless  to  put  a stop  to  this  traffic 
imposed  upon  it  by  a foreign  government,  and  he 


IX 


X 


INTRODUCTION 


greatly  deplored  the  slow,  but  steady  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  nation  which  was  in  consequence 
taking  place.  As  he  produced  his  facts  and  figures, 
showing  what  this  meant  to  his  people — this 
gradual  undermining  of  their  moral  fiber  and 
economic  efficiency — we  grew  more  and  more 
interested.  That  such  conditions  existed  were 
to  us  unheard  of,  and  unbelievable.  It  seemed 
incredible  that  in  this  age,  with  the  consensus 
of  public  opinion  sternly  opposed  to  the  sale  and 
distribution  of  habit-forming  drugs,  and  with 
legislation  to  curb  and  restrict  such  practices  in- 
corporated in  the  laws  of  all  ethical  and  civilized 
governments,  that  here,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
world,  we  should  come  upon  opium  traffic  con- 
ducted as  a government  monopoly.  Not  only 
that,  but  conducted  by  one  of  the  greatest  and 
most  highly  civilized  nations  of  the  world,  a na- 
tion which  we  have  always  looked  up  to  as  being 
in  the  very  forefront  of  advanced,  progressive 
and  humane  ideals.  So  shocked  were  we  by  what 
this  young  Hindu  told  us,  that  we  flatly  refused 
to  believe  him.  We  listened  to  what  he  had  to  say 
on  the  subject,  but  thinking  that  however  earnest 
he  might  be,  however  sincere  in  his  sense  of  out- 
rage at  such  a policy,  that  he  must  of  necessity 
be  mistaken.  We  decided  not  to  take  his  word  for 
it,  but  to  look  into  the  matter  for  ourselves. 

We  did  look  into  the  matter.  During  a stay 
in  the  Far  East  of  nearly  a year,  in  which  time  we 


INTRODUCTION 


XI 


visited  Japan,  China,  Hongkong,  French  Indo- 
China,  Siam  and  Singapore,  we  looked  into  the 
matter  in  every  country  we  visited.  Wherever 
possible  we  obtained  government  reports,  and 
searched  them  carefully  for  those  passages  giving 
statistics  concerning  the  opium  trade — the  amount 
of  opium  consumed,  the  number  of  shops  where  it 
was  sold,  and  the  number  of  divans  where  it  was 
smoked.  We  found  these  shops  established  under 
government  auspices,  the  dealers  obtaining  their 
supplies  of  opium  from  the  government,  and  then 
obtaining  licenses  from  the  government  to  retail 
it.  In  many  countries,  we  visited  these  shops  and 
divans  in  person,  and  bought  opium  in  them  freely, 
just  as  one  goes  to  a shop  to  buy  cigarettes.  We 
found  a thorough  and  complete  establishment  of 
the  opium  traffic,  run  by  the  government,  as  a 
monopoly.  Revenue  was  derived  through  the 
sale  of  opium,  through  excise  taxes  upon  opium, 
and  through  license  fees  paid  by  the  keepers  of 
opium  shops  and  divans.  A complete,  systematic 
arrangement,  by  which  the  foreign  government 
profited  at  the  expense  of  the  subject  peoples  under 
its  rule.  In  European  countries  and  in  America, 
we  find  the  governments  making  every  effort  to 
repress  the  sale  of  habit-forming  drugs.  Here, 
in  the  Far  East,  a contrary  attitude  prevails. 
The  government  makes  every  effort  to  encourage 
and  extend  it. 

Two  notable  exceptions  presented  themselves. 


XU 


INTRODUCTION 


One  was  Japan.  There  are  no  opium  shops  In 
Japan,  and  the  Japanese  Government  is  as  careful 
to  protect  its  people  from  the  evils  and  dangers 
of  opium  as  any  European  country  could  be.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  Japan  is  a 
free  and  Independent  country.  It  has  never  been 
conquered  by  a European  country,  and  perhaps 
one  explanation  as  to  why  the  Japanese  are  a 
powerful,  virile  people.  Is  because  Japan  Is  the 
one  Oriental  nation  that  has  never  been  dominated 
by  a European  power,  and  In  consequence,  never 
drugged. 

The  other  exception  is  our  own  possession  of  the 
Philippines,  which  although  a subject  country, 
has  never  had  the  opium  traffic  established  as 
part  of  the  machinery  of  an  alien  government. 

On  our  return  to  America,  we  were  greatly  exer- 
cised over  these  facts  which  we  had  unearthed. 
We  continued  our  researches  as  to  the  opium 
traffic  in  the  New  York  Public  Library,  and  In 
the  Library  of  Congress,  in  Washington,  in  both 
of  which  places  there  is  a rich  and  abundant  litera- 
ture on  the  subject.  We  obtained  ready  access 
to  official  blue  books  and  government  reports, 
issued  by  the  British  Government,  and  it  is  from 
these  sources  that  the  material  in  this  book  is 
largely  drawn.  We  were  somewhat  hampered 
In  our  Investigations  by  the  fact  that  because  of 
the  war,  these  blue  books  have  not  always  been 
of  recent  date,  some  of  them  being  two  or  three 


INTRODUCTION 


Xlll 


years  old.  For  this  reason,  it  has  not  always  been 
possible  to  give  the  most  recent  figures  as  to 
opium  consumption  and  distribution  in  the  various 
countries.  However,  we  feel  that  we  have  ob- 
tained enough  information  to  uphold  our  case, 
and  in  any  event,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  opium 
traffic,  as  fostered  by  the  British  Government, 
still  continues.  In  looking  over  the  list  of  British 
colonies  where  it  is  established,  we  may  find  here 
and  there  a diminution  in  the  amount  of  opium 
consumed,  but  this  is  probably  due  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  war,  to  the  lack  of  shipping  and 
transportation,  rather  than  to  any  conscientious 
scruples  or  moral  turnover;  because  the  revenue 
derived  from  the  opium  trade  is  precious.  In 
some  instances,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Straits  Set- 
tlements, the  local  British  Government  derives 
from  forty  to  fifty  per  cent  of  its  revenue  from  this 
source.  Yet,  taken  in  relation  to  the  whole,  it  is 
not  large.  However  valuable  it  may  be,  however 
large  the  percentage  in  the  case  of  any  particular 
colony,  it  can  surely  never  be  large  enough  to 
compensate  for  the  stigma  attached.  It  is  a blot 
upon  the  honor  of  a great  nation  to  think  that  she 
deliberately  runs  her  colonies  on  opium.  No  rev- 
enue, whether  large  or  small,  can  be  justified  when 
coming  from  such  a source  as  this. 

In  all  these  blue  books  and  official  reports,  the 
question  of  the  Opium  Monopoly,  as  it  is  called, 
is  dealt  with  freely.  There  is  no  attempt  to  hide 


XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


or  suppress  the  facts.  The  subject  is  reported 
frankly  and  fully.  It  is  all  there,  for  any  one  to 
read  who  chooses.  How  then,  does  it  happen  that 
we  in  America  know  nothing  about  Great  Britain’s 
Opium  Monopoly?  That  the  facts  are  new  to  us 
and  come  to  us  as  a shock?  One  is  because  of  our 
admiration  for  Great  Britain.  Those  who  know — 
and  there  are  a few — hesitate  to  state  them.  Those 
who  know,  feel  that  it  is  a policy  unworthy  of  her. 
We  hesitate  to  call  attention  to  the  shortcomings 
of  a friend.  There  are  other  reasons  also  for  this 
conspiracy  of  silence — fear  of  international  com- 
plications, fear  of  endangering  the  good  feeling 
between  the  two  countries,  England  and  America. 
Consequently  England  has  been  able  to  rely  upon 
those  who  know  the  facts  to  keep  silent,  either 
through  admiration  or  through  fear.  Also  the 
complete  ignorance  of  the  rest  of  us  has  been  an 
additional  safeguard.  Therefore,  for  nearly  a cen- 
tury, she  has  been  running  her  Opium  Monopoly 
undisturbed.  It  began  as  a private  industry,  about 
the  time  of  the  East  India  Company,  but  later  on 
passed  out  of  the  hands  of  private  individuals  into 
the  department  of  Opium  Administration,  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  colonial  government.  But, 
loyal  as  we  have  been  all  these  years,  we  can  re- 
main silent  no  longer.  The  time  is  now  rapidly 
approaching  when  the  two  countries,  England  and 
America,  are  to  become  closely  united.  How  can 
we  become  truly  united,  however,  when  on  such 


INTRODUCTION 


XV 


a great  moral  question  as  this  we  stand  diametri- 
cally opposed  ? 

There  is  still  another  reason  why  we  should 
break  silence.  The  welfare  of  our  own  country 
is  now  at  stake.  The  menace  of  opium  is  now 
threatening  America,  and  our  first  duty  is  to  our- 
selves. Little  by  little,  surreptitiously,  this  drug 
has  been  creeping  in  over  our  borders,  and  to-day 
many  thousands  of  our  young  men  and  young 
women  are  drug  addicts,  habituated  to  the  use  of 
one  of  the  opium  derivatives,  morphia  or  heroin. 
The  recent  campaign  against  drug  users,  conducted 
by  the  New  York  Department  of  Health,  has 
uncovered  these  addicts  in  great  numbers;  has 
brought  them  before  us,  made  us  see,  in  spite 
of  ourselves,  that  thousands  of  them  exist  and 
that  new  ones  are  being  created  daily.  The  ques- 
tion arises,  how  do  they  obtain  the  drug?  It  was 
the  fortune  of  the  writer  to  be  present  during  the 
first  week  of  the  opening  of  the  Health  Depart- 
ment Clinic  for  Drug  Addicts,  and  her  work  con- 
sisted in  taking  the  histories  of  these  pitiful,  ab- 
ject wrecks  of  men  and  women  who  swarmed  to 
the  clinic  in  hundreds,  seeking  supplies  of  the 
drug  which  they  could  not  obtain  elsewhere.  The 
history  of  these  patients  was  almost  invariably 
the  same — there  was  a monotony  in  their  tragic, 
pathetic  recital  as  to  how  they  became  victims, 
how  they  first  became  acquainted  with  the  drug. 
As  a rule,  they  began  in  extreme  youth,  generally 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


between  fifteen  and  twenty  years  of  age,  one  boy 
having  begun  at  the  age  of  thirteen.  In  nearly 
every  case  they  had  tried  it  as  a lark,  as  an  ex- 
periment. At  “ parties/  they  said,  when  some 
one  of  the  company  would  pass  round  a box  full 
of  heroin,  inviting  them  to  snuff  it.  To  snuff  it, 
these  children,  very  much  as  a small  boy  goes 
behind  the  barn  to  try  his  first  cigarette.  In 
many  instances  those  who  produced  the  box  were 
peddlers,  offering  it  as  a gift  at  first,  knowing 
that  after  a dose  or  two  the  fatal  habit  would  be 
formed  and  another  customer  created.  These 
peddlers  doubtless  obtained  their  supplies  from 
smugglers.  But  that  takes  us  back  to  our  argu- 
ment, namely,  the  part  played  by  that  great 
nation  which  grows  and  distributes  opium  to 
the  world.  For  that  nation  produces  an  over- 
supply of  opium,  far  more  than  is  needed  by  the 
medical  profession  for  the  relief  of  pain.  Opium 
is  not  profitable  in  its  legitimate  use.  It  is  only 
profitable  because  of  the  demands  of  addicts, 
men  and  women  deliberately  debauched,  either 
through  the  legalized  machinery  of  colonial  gov- 
ernments, or  through  the  illegal  activities  of 
smugglers.  A moral  sentiment  that  will  balk  at 
this  immense  over-production,  the  sole  object  of 
which  is  to  create  drug  victims,  is  the  only  weapon 
to  fight  it.  In  giving  this  book  to  the  public, 
we  are  calling  upon  that  moral  sentiment.  We 
feel  that  we  shall  number  among  our  staunchest 


INTRODUCTION 


XVU 


supporters  that  great  body  of  men  and  women  in 
England  who  have  for  years  been  vainly  fighting 
the  opium  traffic.  No  more  bitter  opponents  of 
this  policy  are  to  be  found  than  amongst  the  Eng- 
lish people  themselves.  From  time  to  time,  in 
Parliament,  sharp  debates  have  arisen  as  to  the 
advisability  of  continuing  it,  and  some  of  the 
greatest  men  in  England  have  been  steadfastly 
opposed.  The  great  Gladstone  has  described  it  as 
“morally  indefensible.”  The  time  has  now  come 
for  us,  people  of  both  countries,  to  unite  to  stop  it. 


4 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


I 


GREAT  BRITAIN’S  OPIUAI  MONOPOLY 

In  a book  shop  in  Shanghai,  we  came  upon  a small 
book  with  an  arresting  title,  “Drugging  a Nation,” 
by  Samuel  Merwin.  It  was  published  in  1908, 
eight  years  before  we  chanced  upon  it,  shabby  and 
shop  worn,  its  pages  still  uncut.  The  people  of 
Shanghai,  the  great  International  Settlement  of 
this  largest  city  and  most  important  seaport  of 
China,  did  not  have  to  read  it.  They  knew,  doubt- 
less, all  that  its  pages  could  disclose.  We,  however, 
found  it  most  enlightening.  In  it  there  is  this 
description  of  the  British  Opium  Monopoly: 

“In  speaking  of  it  as  a ‘monopoly’  I am  not 
employing  a cant  word  for  effect.  I am  not  making 
a case.  That  is  what  it  is  officially  styled  in  a 
certain  blue  book  on  my  table  which  bears  the 
title,  ‘Statement  Exhibiting  tlie  Moral  and  ^la- 
terial  Progress  of  India  during  the  year  i905-’6,’ 
and  which  was  ordered  by  the  House  of  Commons 
to  be  printed,  hlay  10,  1907.  . . . Now  to  get 
down  to  cases,  just  what  this  Government  Opium 
Monopoly  is,  and  just  how  does  it  work?  An  ex- 
cerpt from  the  rather  ponderous  blue  book  will 
tell  us.  It  may  be  dry  but  it  is  official  and  un- 
assailable. It  is  also  short. 

“‘The  opium  revenue’ — thus  the  blue  book — 


I 


2 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


‘ is  partly  raised  by  a monopoly  of  the  production 
of  the  drug  in  Bengal  and  the  United  provinces, 
and  partly  by  the  levy  of  a duty  on  all  opium 
imported  from  native  states.  ...  In  these  two 
provinces,  the  crop  is  grown  under  the  control  of 
a government  department,  which  arranges  the  total 
area  which  is  to  be  placed  under  the  crop,  with  a 
view  to  the  amount  of  opium  required.’ 

“So  much  for  the  broader  outline.  Now  for  a 
few  of  the  details:  ‘The  cultivator  of  opium  in 
these  monopoly  districts  receives  a license,  and  is 
granted  advances  to  enable  him  to  prepare  the 
land  for  the  crop,  and  he  is  required  to  deliver  the 
whole  of  the  product  at  a fixed  price  to  opium 
agents,  by  whom  it  is  dispatched  to  the  govern- 
ment factories  at  Patna  and  Ghazipur.’ 

“The  money  advanced  to  the  cultivator  bears 
no  interest.  The  British  Indian  government  lends 
money  without  interest  in  no  other  cases.  Pro- 
ducers of  crops  other  than  opium  are  obliged  to 
get  along  without  free  money. 

“When  it  has  been  manufactured,  the  opium 
must  be  disposed  of  in  one  way  and  another;  ac- 
cordingly: ‘The  supply  of  prepared  opium  re- 
quired for  consumption  in  India  is  made  over  to 
the  Excise  Department  . . . the  chests  of  “ pro- 
vision ” opium,  for  export,  are  sold  at  monthly 
sales,  which  take  place  at  Calcutta.’  For  the 
meaning  of  the  curious  term,  ‘provision  opium’  we 
have  only  to  read  on  a little  further.  ‘The  opium 


GREAT  Britain’s  opium  monopoly  3 

is  received  and  prepared  at  the  government  fac- 
tories, where  the  out-turn  of  the  year  included 
8,774  chests  of  opium  for  the  Excise  Depart- 
ment, about  three  hundred  pounds  of  various 
opium  alkaloids,  thirty  maunds  of  medical  opium; 
and  51,770  chests  of  provision  opium  for  the 
Chinese  market.’  There  are  about  140  pounds 
in  a chest.  . . . Last  year  the  government  had 
under  poppy  cultivation  654,928  acres.  And 
the  revenue  to  the  treasury,  including  returns 
from  auction  sales,  duties  and  license  fees,  and 
deducting  all  ‘opium  expenditures’  was  nearly 
$22,000,000.” 

As  the  blue  book  states,  this  opium  is  auctioned 
off  once  a month.  At  that  point,  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, as  a government,  washes  its  hands  of 
the  business.  Who  buys  the  opium  at  these  gov- 
ernment auctions,  and  what  afterwards  becomes 
of  it.^  “The  men  who  buy  in  the  opium  at  these 
monthly  auctions  and  afterwards  dispose  of  it 
are  a curious  crowd  of  Parsees,  Mohammedans, 
Hindoos  and  Asiatic  Jews.  Few  British  names 
appear  in  the  opium  trade  to-day.  British  dig- 
nity prefers  not  to  stoop  beneath  the  taking  in 
of  profits;  it  leaves  the  details  of  a dirty  business 
to  dirty  hands.  This  is  as  it  has  been  from  the 
first.  The  directors  of  the  East  India  Company, 
years  and  years  before  that  splendid  corporation 
relinquished  the  actual  government  of  India,  for- 
bade the  selling  of  its  specially-prepared  opium 


4 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


direct  to  China,  and  advised  a trading  station  on 
the  coast  whence  the  drug  might  find  its  way 
‘without  the  company  being  exposed  to  the  dis- 
grace of  being  engaged  in  illicit  commerce.’” 

“So  clean  hands  and  dirty  hands  went  into 
partnership.  They  are  in  partnership  still,  save 
that  the  most  nearly  Christian  of  governments 
has  officially  succeeded  the  company  as  party  of 
the  first  part.” 

You  will  say,  if  the  British  Government  chooses 
to  deal  in  opium,  that  is  not  our  concern.  It  is 
most  emphatically  our  concern.  Once  a month, 
at  these  great  auction  sales,  the  British  Govern- 
ment distributes  thousands  of  pounds  of  opium, 
which  are  thus  turned  loose  upon  the  world,  to 
bring  destruction  and  ruin  to  the  human  race. 
The  buyers  of  this  opium  are  not  agents  of  the 
British  Government.  They  are  merely  the  dis- 
tributors, through  whom  this  drug  is  directed 
into  the  channels  of  trade.  The  British  Govern- 
ment derives  a certain  portion  of  its  revenue  from 
the  sale  of  opium,  therefore  depends  upon  these 
dealers  to  find  a market  for  it.  They  are  there- 
fore, as  distributors,  the  unofficial  agents  of  the 
British  Government,  through  whom  it  is  sold 
legitimately,  or  smuggled  around  the  world.  In 
seeking  to  eradicate  the  drug  evil,  we  must  face 
the  facts,  and  recognize  clearly  that  the  source  of 
supply  is  the  British  Government,  through  whose 
agents,  official  and  unofficial,  it  is  distributed. 


GREAT  Britain’s  opium  monopoly  5 

America,  so  they  tell  us,  is  now  menaced  by  the 
drug  evil.  Now  that  prohibition  is  coming  into 
effect,  we  are  told  that  we  are  now  confronted  by 
a vice  more  terrible,  far  more  deteriorating  and 
dangerous.  If  that  is  true,  then  we  must  recognize 
our  danger  and  guard  against  it.  Some  of  the 
opium  and  morphia  which  reaches  this  country 
is  smuggled  in;  the  rest  is  imported  by  the  big 
wholesale  drug  houses.  There  is  an  unlimited 
supply  of  it.  As  we  have  seen,  the  British  Govern- 
ment encourages  poppy  production,  even  to  the 
extent  of  lending  money  without  interest  to  all 
those  who  are  willing  to  raise  this  most  profitable 
crop.  The  monopoly  opium  is  sold  once  a month 
to  the  highest  bidders,  and  some  of  these  highest 
bidders  are  unscrupulous  men  who  must  find  their 
markets  how  and  where  they  can.  That  fact, 
of  course,  is  of  no  moment  to  the  British  Govern- 
ment. It  is  of  deepest  concern  to  Americans, 
however.  To  the  north  of  us  we  have  the  Do- 
minion of  Canada.  To  the  south,  the  No-Man’s 
Land  of  Mexico.  At  the  present  moment,  the 
whole  country  is  alarmed  at  the  growing  menace 
of  the  drug  habit,  which  is  assuming  threaten- 
ing proportions. 


II 


THE  INDIAN  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 

Let  us  quote  from  another  dry  official  record,  of 
unimpeachable  veracity — the  Statesman’s  Year- 
Book,  for  1916.  On  page  140,  under  the  heading 
of  The  British  Empire:  India  and  Dependencies, 
we  read:  “Opium.  In  British  territory  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  poppy  for  the  production  of  opium 
is  mainly  restricted  to  the  United  Provinces,  and 
the  manufacture  of  the  opium  from  this  region  is 
a State  monopoly.  A limited  amount  is  also 
grown  in  the  Punjab  for  local  consumption  and  to 
produce  poppy  seeds.  In  the  monopoly  districts 
the  cultivator  receives  advances  from  Govern- 
ment to  enable  him  to  prepare  the  land  for  the 
crop,  and  he  is  bound  to  sell  the  whole  of  the  prod- 
uce at  a fixed  price  to  Government  agents,  by 
whom  it  is  despatched  to  the  Government  fac- 
tory at  Ghazipur  to  be  prepared  for  the  market. 
The  chests  of  manufactured  opium  are  sold  by 
auction  in  Calcutta  at  monthly  sales.  A reserve 
is  kept  in  hand  to  supply  the  deficiencies  of  bad 
seasons,  and  a considerable  quantity  is  distributed 
by  the  Indian  excise  departments.  Opium  is  also 
grown  in  many  of  the  Native  States  of  Rajaputana 
and  Central  India.  These  Native  States  have 
agreed  to  conform  to  the  British  system.  No 

6 


THE  INDIAN  OPIUM  MONOPOLY  7 

opium  may  pass  from  them  into  British  territory 
for  consumption  without  payment  of  duty. 

“The  bulk  of  the  exports  of  opium  from  India 
has  been  to  China.  By  arrangements  with  that 
country,  the  first  one  being  in  1907,  the  exports 
from  India  have  been  limited,  and  provision  made 
for  the  cessation  of  the  export  to  China  when  the 
native  Chinese  production  of  opium  shall  be 
suppressed.  The  trade  with  China  is  now  prac- 
tically suspended.” 

The  important  things  to  notice  in  the  above 
statement  are  these;  The  growing  of  poppies,  the 
manufacture  of  opium,  and  the  monthly  auction 
sales  continue.  Also,  the  opium  trade  with  China 
is  practically  at  an  end.  The  history  of  the  opium 
traffic  in  China  is  a story  complete  in  itself  and 
will  be  dealt  with  in  another  chapter.  At  present, 
we  must  notice  that  the  trade  with  China  is  prac- 
tically suspended,  but  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment is  still  auctioning  off,  once  a month  at  Cal- 
cutta, great  quantities  of  opium.  Where  does 
this  opium  go — who  are  the  consumers.^  If  not 
to  China,  then  where.? 

The  same  reliable  authority,  the  Statesman’s 
Year-Book  for  1918,  has  this  to  say  on  the  sub- 
ject. On  page  130  we  read:  “Opium:  In  British 
territory  the  cultivation  of  the  poppy  for  the  pro- 
duction of  opium  is  practically  confined  to  the 
United  Provinces,  and  the  manufacture  of  opium 
from  this  region  is  a State  monopoly.  The  bulk 


8 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


of  the  exported  opium  is  at  present  either  sent  to 
the  United  Kingdom,  or  supplied  direct  to  the 
Governments  of  consuming  countries  in  the  Far 
East;  a certain  quantity  is  also  sold  by  auction 
in  Calcutta  at  monthly  sales.  Opium  is  also 
grown  in  many  of  the  Native  States  of  Rajputana 
and  Central  India,  which  have  agreed  to  conform 
to  the  British  system.”  The  following  tables, 
taken  from  most  reliable  authority,  give  some 
idea  of  the  exports  to  the  “consuming  countries 
of  the  Far  East.”  Note  that  Japan  began  buying 
opium  in  1911-12.  We  shall  have  something  to 
say  about  the  Japanese  smuggling  later.  Also 
note  that  it  was  in  1907  that  Great  Britain  and 
China  entered  into  agreement,  the  outcome  to  be 
the  suppression  of  the  opium  trade  in  China.  But 
see  the  increasing  imports  into  the  treaty  ports; 
up  till  almost  the  very  last  moment  British  opium 
being  poured  into  China.  In  the  second  table, 
observe  the  increasing  importation  into  England, 
(United  Kingdom),  synchronous  with  the  in- 
creased exports  to  Japan,  which  will  be  discussed 
later. 


STATISTICAL  ABSTRACT  RELATING  TO  BRITISH  INDIA  1903-4  TO  1912-13 
EXPORTS  OF  OPIUM 


THE  INDIAN  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


cs 

O 

00 

l_f^ 

o 

to 

00 

On 

00 

00 

to 

00 

ON 

O 

00 

rt< 

v-< 

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NO 

o 

CO 

o 

o 

00 

SO 

CO 

CM 

On 

00 

On 

04 

CO 

CM 

CM 

<VS 

O 

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o 

»o 

to 

CM 

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00 

00 

CO 

NO 

00 

to 

n* 

O 1 

1 

o‘ 

ON 

NO 

ON 

NO 

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•eJN 

CO 

to 

CM 

to 

so 

SO 

CM 

CM 

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CM 

00 

CM 

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CM 

so 

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00 

Os 

O^ 

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CM 

CM 

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CO 

NO 

to 

CM 

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CO 

00 

NO 

CN^ 

o 

CO 

CO 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

CM 

CO 

CM 

CM 

CO* 

NO 

NO 

o 

o 

CO 

CO 

Os 

lO 

CO 

CO 

CM 

Os 

00 

CM 

to 

Os 

CO 

CO 

t>il 

00 

o 

CO 

o 

CO 

Os 

CM 

CO 

CM^ 

CM^ 

CM 

'o" 

CO 

CM 

NO 

CM 

00 

O 

rt* 

to 

o 

CO 

CO 

t'. 

NO 

NO 

in 

fn 

’«*' 

On" 

. Tt< 

o 

00 

00 

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CM 

*-< 

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to 

Os 

>0 

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NO 

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CM 

©- 

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cT 

to 

fr> 

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CM 

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NO 

CM 

NO 

Os 

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CM 

so 

CM 

CM 

NO 

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rO 

00 

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Os 

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to 

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io* 

CcT 

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NO 

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SO 

to 

Os 

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CO 

so 

NO 

CO 

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fV, 

to 

m 

CO 

CO 

00 

NO 

Tt< 

00 

CO 

o 

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CM 

1 ^ 

NO 

CM 

00 

to 

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SO 

to 

NO 

00 

Os 

CM^ 

o 

rjT 

cC 

NO 

CO 

CM 

CO 

f.. 

ON 

CO 

o 

so 

CM 

T}< 

CO 

CM 

so 

o 

NO 

to 

CO* 

o 

NO 

NO 

ON 

00 

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CO 

CM 

Ch 

•H 

CO 

NO 

>» 

„ 

C3 

a 

0) 

a 

’Scrt 

.y 

41:1 

<5 

hina  Tr 
Ports 

c 

o 

to 

O 

O 

Java 

a 

o 

cS 

a 

cS 

Q, 

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M 6 
0*0 
a a 

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a 
*-i  5 
<J  o 
•SO 

o 

w 

To 

IS 

o 

t5 

9 


Page  196  Table  170  Congressional  Library  HA  17 13-A3-Ref. 


lO 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


* 

VO 

N 

00 

N 

N 

00 

O' 

CO 

w-> 

N 

VO 

C<l 

hH 

Th 

u-1 

1 

N 

CO 

10 

'O 

VO 

1 

Ti- 

hH 

c4' 

•4- 

o' 

0'' 

00' 

0 

0 

o' 

rC 

HH 

a^ 

00 

0 

00 

VO 

0 

CO 

Os 

H4 

N 

N 

1^ 

hH 

0 

H 

S 

N 

0 

0 

CO 

0 

CO 

CO 

VO 

C<1 

CO 

H 

M 

0 

On 

CO 

0 

0 

CO 

CO 

0 

hH 

c^ 

VO 

1 

55 

1 

VO 

0^ 

0^ 

VO 

00 

c^ 

c> 

c^ 

D 

CO 

6^ 

vo" 

ocT 

rC 

ocT 

c> 

s 

1-0 

0 

VO 

CO 

HH 

hi^ 

0 1 

OV 

u 

Ov 

►H 

M 

NH 

0^ 

>-' 

M 

CO 

M 

M S 


H 

S 

M 

o 

H 


O 

H 

S 

S 

o 

b 

O 


O M 

z h 


H 

< 

H 

Pi 


oi 

o 

b 

X 

W 


MD 


H W 

Kl  I-] 

a a 

"'(2 

hJ 

< , 
U I-I 

H <2 

ri%  ^ 


H W 

< 5 

CO  Oh 

S 

o 

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b 


o 


O' 


rt 

C 

15 

U 


o 

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o 

O' 


O' 


tJfl  c 

c ?J 

Q S 


^ 33  t/T 

£lh  *— ' W)  4_> 

c t!  c t 
O m 12  cv 
^ CTD  2h  Ph 

d,  2 'S  ^ ° 
e .s  '5  .ti 

>-'  ns  .2  ^5  rt  ^ 

fei— jcoUcoPHi^t— lO 


c 

3 

o 

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««  ir: 

nS  (j  nS  W 


Total 2,280,031  1,175,639 


Ill 


JAPAN  AS  AN  OPIUM  DISTRIBUTOR 

In  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  New  York 
Time 5^  under  date  of  February  14,  1919,  we  read: 
“A  charge  that  the  Japanese  Government  se- 
cretly fosters  the  morphia  traffic  in  China  and 
other  countries  in  the  Far  East  is  made  by  a cor- 
respondent in  the  North  China  Herald  in  its  issue 
of  December  21st  last.  The  correspondent  asserts 
that  the  traffic  has  the  financial  support  of  the 
Bank  of  Japan,  and  that  the  Japanese  postal 
service  in  China  aids,  although  ‘Japan  is  a signa- 
tory to  the  agreement  which  forbids  the  import  into 
China  of  morphia  or  of  any  appliances  used  in  its 
manufacture  or  application.’ 

“Morphia  no  longer  can  be  purchased  in  Europe, 
the  correspondent  writes.  The  seat  of  industry 
has  been  transferred  to  Japan,  and  morphia  is 
now  manufactured  by  the  Japanese  themselves. 
Literally,  tens  of  millions  of  yen  are  transferred 
annually  from  China  to  Japan  for  the  payment  of 
Japanese  morphia.  . . . 

“In  South  China,  morphia  is  sold  by  Chinese 
peddlers,  each  of  whom  carries  a passport  certi- 
fying that  he  is  a native  of  Formosa,  and  there- 
fore entitled  to  Japanese  protection.  Japanese 
drug  stores  throughout  China  carry  large  stocks 


II 


12 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


of  morphia.  Japanese  medicine  vendors  look  to 
morphia  for  their  largest  profits.  Wherever  Japan- 
ese are  predominant,  there  the  trade  flourishes. 
Through  Dairen,  morphia  circulates  throughout 
Manchuria  and  the  province  adjoining;  through 
Tsingtao,  morphia  is  distributed  over  Shantung 
province,  Anhui,  and  Kiangsu,  while  from  For- 
mosa morphia  is  carried  with  opium  and  other 
contraband  by  motor-driven  fishing  boats  to  some 
point  on  the  mainland,  from  which  it  is  distributed 
throughout  the  province  of  Fukien  and  the  north 
of  Kuangtung.  Everywhere  it  is  sold  by  Japanese 
under  extra-territorial  protection.” 

The  article  is  rather  long,  and  proves  beyond 
doubt  the  existence  of  a well-organized  and  tre- 
mendous smuggling  business,  by  means  of  which 
China  is  being  deluged  with  morphia.  In  the  body 
of  the  article  we  find  this  paragraph: 

“While  the  morphia  traffic  is  large,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  opium  traffic 
upon  which  Japan  is  embarking  with  enthusiasm, 
is  likely  to  prove  even  more  lucrative.  In  the 
Calcutta  opium  sales,  Japan  has  become  one  of 
the  considerable  purchasers  of  Indian  opium.  . . . 
Sold  by  the  Government  of  India,  this  opium  is 
exported  under  permits  applied  for  by  the  Japanese 
Government,  is  shipped  to  Kobe,  and  from  Kobe 
is  transshipped  to  Tsingtao.  Large  profits  are 
made  in  this  trade,  in  which  are  interested  some  of 
the  leading  firms  of  Japan.” 


JAPAN  AS  AN  OPIUM  DISTRIBUTOR  1 3 

This  article  appears  to  be  largely  anti-Japanese. 
In  fact,  more  anti-Japanese  than  anti-opium.  Anti- 
Japanese  sentiment  in  America  is  played  upon  by 
showing  up  the  Japanese  as  smugglers  of  opium. 
The  part  the  British  Government  plays  in  this 
traffic  is  not  emphasized.  “In  the  Calcutta  opium 
sales,  Japan  has  become  one  of  the  considerable 
purchasers  of  Indian  opium  . . . sold  by  the 
Government  of  India.”  We  are  asked  to  condemn 
the  Japanese,  who  purchase  their  stocks  of  opium 
as  individuals,  and  who  distribute  it  in  the  capacity 
of  smugglers.  We  are  not  asked  to  censure  the 
British  Government  which  produces,  manufac- 
tures and  sells  this  opium  as  a State  monopoly. 
We  are  asked  to  denounce  the  Japanese  and  their 
nefarious  smuggling  and  shameful  traffic,  but 
the  source  of  supply,  which  depends  upon  these 
smugglers  as  customers  at  the  monthly  auc- 
tions, is  above  reproach.  A delicate  ethical  distinc- 
tion. 

However,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Japanese 
are  ardent  smugglers.  In  an  article  in  the  March, 
1919,  number  of  “Asia”  by  Putnam  Weale,  we 
find  the  following  bit:*  “At  all  ports  where 
Japanese  commissioners  of  Maritime  Customs  (in 
China)  hold  office,  it  is  undeniable  that  centres  of 
contraband  trade  have  been  established,  opium  and 
its  derivatives  being  so  openly  smuggled  that  the 
annual  net  import  of  Japanese  morphia  (although 
* “ A Fair  Chance  for  Asia,”  by  Putnam  Weale,  page  227. 


14 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


this  trade  is  forbidden  hy  International  Conven- 
tion) is  now  said  to  be  something  like  20  tons  a 
year — sufficient  to  poison  a whole  nation.” 

Mr.  Weale  is  an  Englishman,  therefore  more 
anti-Japanese  than  anti-opium.  We  do  not  recall 
any  of  his  writings  in  which  he  protests  against 
the  opium  trade  as  conducted  by  his  Government, 
nor  the  part  his  Government  plays  in  fostering 
and  encouraging  it. 

However,  there  are  other  Englishmen  who  see 
the  situation  in  a more  impartial  light,  and  who  are 
equally  critical  of  both  Great  Britain  and  Japan. 
In  his  book,  “Trade  Politics  and  Christianity  in 
Africa  and  the  East,”  by  A.  J.  Macdonald,  M.  A., 
formerly  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  we  find 
the  facts  presented  with  more  balance.  Thus, 
on  page  229;  “.  . . In  the  north  of  China  an- 
other evil  is  springing  up.  The  eradication  of 
the  opium  habit  is  being  followed  by  the  develop- 
ment of  the  morphia  traffic.  . . . The  morphia 
habit  in  northern  China,  especially  Manchuria, 
is  already  widespread.  The  Chinese  Government 
is  alert  to  the  evil,  but  their  efforts  to  repress  it 
are  hampered  by  the  action  of  traders,  mainly 
Japanese,  who  elude  the  restrictions  imposed  by 
the  Chinese  and  Japanese  Governments.  . . . 
China  is  being  drenched  with  morphia.  It  is  in- 
credible that  anything  approaching  the  amount 
could  possibly  be  devoted  to  legitimate  purposes. 
It  is  said  that  in  certain  areas  coolies  are  to  be  seen 


JAPAN  AS  AN  OPIUM  DISTRIBUTOR  1 5 

‘covered  all  over  with  needle  punctures.’  An  in- 
jection of  the  drug  can  be  obtained  for  three  or 
four  cents.  In  Newchang  2,000  victims  of  the 
morphia  habit  died  in  the  winter  of  1914-15. 
Morphia  carries  off  its  victims  far  more  rapidly 
than  opium.  . . . Morphia  is  not  yet  manu- 
factured in  any  appreciable  quantities  in  the  East, 
and  certainly  even  Japan  cannot  yet  manufacture 
the  hypodermic  injectors  by  means  of  which  the 
drug  is  received.  The  bulk  of  the  manufacture 
takes  place  in  England,  Germany  and  Austria.  . . . 
In  this  traffic,  two  firms  in  Edinburgh  and  one  in 
London  are  engaged.  The  trade  is  carried  on 
through  Japanese  agents.  The  Board  of  Trade 
returns  show  that  the  export  of  morphia  from  Great 
Britain  to  the  East  has  risen  enormously  during 
the  last  few  years — 

1911  Kli  tons 

1912  “ 

1913  “ 

1914  14 

. . The  freedom  which  allows  three  British 
firms  to  supply  China  with  morphia  for  illicit 
purposes  is  a condemnation  of  English  Christian- 
ity.”  ^ 

This  book  of  Mr.  Macdonald’s  was  published 
in  1916.  Mr.  Weale’s  article  was  published  in 
1919,  in  which  he  speaks  of  an  importation  of  about 
twenty  tons  of  morphia.  Apparently  the  three 


1 6 THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 

British  firms  which  manufacture  morphia,  two  in 
Edinburgh  and  one  in  London  are  still  going  strong. 
Japan,  however,  appears  to  be  growing  impatient 
with  all  this  opprobrium  cast  upon  her  as  the  dis- 
tributor of  drugs,  especially  since  much  of  the 
outcry  against  this  comes  from  America.  Our 
own  country  seems  to  be  assisting  in  this  traffic 
in  a most  extensive  manner.  The  Japan  Society 
Bulletin  No.  6o  calls  attention  to  this: 

NEW  TURN  IN  MORPHIA  TRAFFIC 

The  morphia  traffic  in  China  has  taken  a new  turn, 
according  to  the  Japan  Advertiser.  It  quotes  Putnam 
Weale  to  the  effect  that  whilst  in  recent  years  the  main 
distributors  have  been  Japanese,  the  main  manufac- 
turers have  been  British.  The  morphia  has  been  ex- 
ported in  large  quantities  from  Edinburgh  to  Japan, 
but  as  the  result  of  licensing  the  exports  of  this  drug 
from  Great  Britain,  the  shipments  to  Japan  dropped 
from  600,229  ounces  in  1917  to  one-fourth  that  amount 
in  1918.  The  Japan  Chronicle,  speaking  from  “ab- 
solutely authentic  information,”  states  that  113,000 
ounces  of  morphia  arrived  in  Kobe  from  the  United 
States  in  the  first  five  months  of  1919.  These  figures 
are  not  given  as  the  total  shipments  received  in  Kobe, 
but  merely  as  the  quantity  of  which  The  Chronicle  has 
actual  knowledge.  It  states  further  that  this  morphia 
is  being  transhipped  in  Kobe  harbor  to  vessels  bound 
for  China.  Dr.  Paul  S.  Reinsch,  who  has  resigned  his 
post  as  Minister  to  China,  has  stated  that  he  will  use 
every  resource  in  his  power  to  stop  the  shipment  from 


JAPAN  AS  AN  OPIUM  DISTRIBUTOR  1 7 

America  of  morphia  intended  for  distribution  in  China, 
in  defiance  of  the  international  convention  which  pro- 
hibits the  sale  of  the  drug  in  that  country. 

If  sufficient  publicity  is  cast  upon  the  distributors, 
Japanese,  English  and  American,  public  sentiment 
may  in  time  take  cognizance  of  the  source  of  all 
this  mischief,  namely,  the  producer. 


IV 


SINGAPORE 

In  January,  1917,  we  found  ourselves  at  Singapore, 
a British  dependency,  situated  at  the  end  of  the 
Malay  Peninsula,  and  one  of  the  greatest  seaports 
of  the  Orient.  We  were  stopping  at  the  Hotel  de 
I’Europe,  a large  and  first  class  hotel.  The  first 
morning  at  breakfast,  the  waiter  stood  beside  us, 
waiting  for  our  order.  He  was  a handsome  young 
Malay,  dressed  in  white  linen  clothes,  and  wearing 
a green  jade  bracelet  on  one  wrist.  We  gave  him 
our  order  and  he  did  not  move  off.  He  continued 
to  stand  quietly  beside  our  chairs,  as  in  a trance. 
We  repeated  the  order — one  tea,  one  coffee,  two 
papayas.  He  continued  to  stand  still  beside  us, 
stupidly.  Finally  he  went  away.  We  waited  for 
a long  time  and  nothing  happened.  At  last,  after 
a long  wait,  he  returned  and  set  before  us  a teapot 
filled  with  hot  water.  Nothing  else.  We  repeated 
again — tea,  coffee,  papayas.  We  said  it  two  or 
three  times.  Then  he  went  away  and  came  back 
with  some  tea.  We  repeated  again,  coffee  and 
fruit.  Eventually  he  brought  us  some  coffee. 
Finally,  after  many  endeavors,  we  got  the  fruit. 
It  all  took  a long  time.  We  then  began  to  realize 
that  something  was  the  matter  with  him.  He 
could  understand  English  well  enough  to  know 

18 


SINGAPORE 


19 


what  orders  we  were  giving  him,  but  he  seemed 
to  forget  as  soon  as  he  left  our  sight.  We  then 
realized  that  he  was  probably  drugged.  It  was 
the  same  thing  every  day.  In  the  morning  he  was 
stupid  and  dull,  and  could  not  remember  what  we 
told  him.  By  evening  his  brain  was  clearer,  and 
at  dinner  he  could  remember  well  enough.  The 
effects  of  whatever  he  had  been  taking  had  ap- 
parently worn  off  during  the  day. 

We  learned  that  the  opium  trade  was  freely 
indulged  in,  at  Singapore,  fostered  by  the  Govern- 
ment. Singapore  is  a large  city  of  about  300,000 
inhabitants,  a great  number  of  which  are  Chinese. 
It  has  wide,  beautiful  streets,  fine  government 
buildings,  magnificent  quays  and  docks — a splen- 
did European  city  at  the  outposts  of  the  Orient. 
We  found  that  a large  part  of  its  revenue  is  derived 
from  the  opium  traffic — from  the  sale  of  opium, 
and  from  license  fees  derived  from  shops  where 
opium  may  be  purchased,  or  from  divans  where  it 
may  be  smoked.  The  customers  are  mainly 
Chinese. 

I wanted  to  visit  these  Government-licensed 
opium  shops  and  opium  dens.  A friend  lent  me 
two  servants,  as  guides.  We  three  got  into  rick- 
shaws and  went  down  to  the  Chinese  quarter, 
where  there  are  several  hundred  of  these  places, 
all  doing  a flourishing  business.  It  was  early  in 
the  afternoon,  but  even  then,  trade  was  brisk. 
The  divans  were  rooms  with  wide  wooden  benches 


20 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


running  round  the  sides,  on  which  benches,  in 
pairs,  sharing  a lamp  between  them,  lay  the 
smokers.  They  purchased  their  opium  on  entering, 
and  then  lay  down  to  smoke  it.  The  packages 
are  little,  triangular  packets,  each  containing 
enough  for  about  six  smokes.  Each  packet  bears 
a label,  red  letters  on  a white  ground,  “Monopoly 
Opium.” 

In  one  den  there  was  an  old  man — but  you  can’t 
tell  whether  a drug  addict  is  old  or  not,  he  looked 
as  they  all  do,  gray  and  emaciated — but  as  he 
caught  my  eye,  he  laid  down  the  needle  on  which 
he  was  about  to  cook  his  pill,  and  glanced  away. 
I stood  before  him,  waiting  for  him  to  continue 
the  process,  but  he  did  not  move. 

“Why  doesn’t  he  go  on?”  I asked  my  guide. 
“He  is  ashamed  to  have  you  see  him,”  came  the 
reply. 

“But  why  should  he  be  ashamed?”  I asked, 
“The  British  Government  is  not  ashamed  to  sell 
to  him,  to  encourage  him  to  drug  himself,  to  ruin 
himself.  Why  should  he  be  ashamed?” 

“Nevertheless,  he  is,”  replied  the  guide.  “You 
see  what  he  looks  like — what  he  has  become.  He 
is  not  quite  so  far  gone  as  the  others — he  is  a more 
recent  victim.  He  still  feels  that  he  has  become 
degraded.  Most  of  them  do  not  feel  that  way — 
after  a while.” 

So  we  went  on  and  on,  down  the  long  street. 
There  was  a dreadful  monotony  about  it  all. 


Packet  of  opium,  actual  size,  as  sold  in 
licensed  opium  shop  in  Singapore.  The 
local  government  here  derives  from  forty 
to  fifty  per  cent  of  its  revenue  through 
the  sale  of  opium. 


SINGAPORE 


21 


House  after  house  of  feeble,  emaciated,  ill  wrecks, 
all  smoking  Monopoly  Opium,  all  contributing, 
by  their  shame  and  degradation,  to  the  revenues  of 
the  mighty  British  Empire. 

That  evening  after  dinner,  I sat  on  the  wide 
verandah  of  the  hotel,  looking  over  a copy  of  the 
“ Straits  Times.”  One  paragraph,  a dispatch  from 
London,  caught  my  eye.  “Chinese  in  Liverpool. 
Reuter’s  Telegram.  London,  January  17,  1917. 
Thirty-one  Chinese  were  arrested  during  police 
raids  last  night  on  opium  dens  in  Liverpool. 
Much  opium  was  seized.  The  police  in  one  place 
were  attacked  by  a big  retriever  and  by  a number 
of  Chinese,  who  threw  boots  and  other  articles 
from  the  house-top.” 

Coming  fresh  from  a tour  of  the  opium-dens  of 
Singapore,  I must  say  that  item  caused  some 
mental  confusion.  It  must  also  be  confusing  to 
the  Chinese.  It  must  be  very  perplexing  to  a 
Chinese  sailor,  who  arrives  in  Liverpool  on  a ship 
from  Singapore,  to  find  such  a variation  in  customs. 
To  come  from  a part  of  the  British  Empire  where 
opium  smoking  is  freely  encouraged,  to  Great 
Britain  itself  where  such  practices  are  not  toler- 
ated. He  must  ask  himself,  why  it  is  that  the 
white  race  is  so  sedulously  protected  from  such 
vices,  while  the  subject  races  are  so  eagerly  en- 
couraged. It  may  occur  to  him  that  the  white 
race  is  valuable  and  must  be  preserved,  and  that 
subject  races  are  not  worth  protecting.  This 


22 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


double  standard  of  international  justice  he  must 
find  disturbing.  It  would  seem,  at  first  glance, 
as  if  subject  races  were  fair  game — if  there  is 
money  in  it.  Subject  races,  dependents,  who  have 
no  vote,  no  share  in  the  government  and  who  are 
powerless  to  protect  themselves — fair  game  for 
exploitation.  Is  this  double-dealing  what  we 
mean  when  we  speak  of  “our  responsibility  to 
backward  nations,”  or  of  “the  sacred  trust  of 
civilization”  or  still  again  when  we  refer  to  “the 
White  Man’s  burden  ” ? 

Pondering  over  these  things  as  I sat  on  the 
hotel  verandah,  I finally  reached  the  conclusion 
that  to  print  such  a dispatch  as  that  in  the 
“ Straits  Times”  was,  to  say  the  least,  most 
tactless. 


V 


THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS  OPIUM 
COMMISSION 

From  time  to  time,  certain  people  in  England  ap- 
parently have  qualms  as  to  Great  Britain’s  opium 
traffic,  and  from  time  to  time  questions  are  raised 
as  to  whether  or  not  such  traffic  is  morally  de- 
fensible. In  February,  1909,  apparently  in  answer 
to  such  scruples  and  questionings  on  the  part  of 
a few,  a very  interesting  report  was  published, 
“Proceedings  of  the  Commission  appointed  to 
Enquire  into  Matters  Relating  to  the  Use  of 
Opium  in  the  Straits  Settlements  and  the  Feder- 
ated Malay  States.  Presented  to  both  Houses 
of  Parliament  by  Command  of  His  Majesty.” 
This  document  may  be  found  in  the  New  York 
Public  Library  and  is  well  worth  careful  perusal. 

This  Commission  consisted  of  about  a dozen 
men,  some  English,  some  natives  of  the  Straits 
Settlements.  They  apparently  made  an  intensive 
and  exhaustive  study  of  the  subject,  carefully  ex- 
amining it  from  every  angle.  Countless  witnesses 
appeared  before  them,  giving  testimony  as  to  the 
effects  of  opium  upon  the  individual.  This  testi- 
mony is  interesting,  in  that  it  is  of  a contradictory 
nature,  some  witnesses  saying  that  moderate  opium 
indulgence  is  nothing  worse  than  indulgence  in 

23 


24 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


alcoholic  beverages,  and  like  alcohol,  only  per- 
nicious if  taken  to  excess.  Other  witnesses 
seemed  to  think  that  it  was  most  harmful.  The 
Commission  made  careful  reports  as  to  the  manner 
of  licensing  houses  for  smoking,  the  system  of 
licensing  opium  farms,  etc.,  and  other  technical 
details  connected  with  this  extensive  Government 
traffic.  Finally,  the  question  of  revenue  was  con- 
sidered, and  while  the  harmfulness  of  opium 
smoking  was  a matter  of  divided  opinion,  when 
it  came  to  revenue  there  was  no  division  of  opinion 
at  all.  As  a means  of  raising  revenue,  the  traffic 
was  certainly  justifiable.  It  was  proven  that  about 
fifty  per  cent  of  the  revenues  of  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments and  the  Federated  Malay  States  came  from 
the  opium  trade,  and,  as  was  naively  pointed  out, 
to  hazard  the  prosperity  of  the  Colony  by  lopping 
off  half  its  revenues,  was  an  unthinkable  pro- 
ceeding. 

The  figures  given  are  as  follows. 


1898.  Revenue  derived  from  Opium.  . . .45.9  per  cent 

1899  44.8 

1900  43-3 

1901  53-2 

1902  48.3 

1903  47-1 

1904  59-1 

1905  46. 

1906  53-3 


There  was  one  dissenting  voice  as  to  the  conclu- 


THE  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS  OPIUM  COMMISSION  2^ 

sions  reached  by  this  Opium  Commission,  that 
of  a Bishop  who  presented  a minority  report. 
But  what  are  moral  scruples  against  cold  facts — 
that  there’s  money  in  the  opium  trade 

This  Commission  made  its  report  in  1909.  But 
the  opium  business  is  apparently  still  flourishing 
in  the  Straits  Settlements.  Thus  we  read  in  the 
official  Blue  Book  for  1917,  “Colony  of  the  Straits 
Settlements”  that  of  the  total  revenue  for  the 
year,  ^19,672,104,  that  $9,182,000  came  from 
opium. 

What  per  cent  is  that  ? 


VI 


OPIUM  IN  SIAM 

Bangkok,  Siam,  January,  1917.  Siam,  an  in- 
dependent kingdom.  As  a matter  of  fact,  “pro- 
tected” very  sternly  and  thoroughly  by  Great 
Britain  and  France,  so  that  its  “independence” 
would  about  cover  an  oyster  cracker.  However, 
it  is  doubtless  protected  “benevolently”  for  what 
protectorate  is  anything  but  benevolent.^  The 
more  rigorous  the  protectorate,  the  more  benevo- 
lent its  character.  The  Peace  Conference  seems 
to  have  given  us  a new  word  in  “mandatory.” 
We  do  not  know  as  yet  what  adjective  will  be 
found  to  qualify  mandatory,  but  it  will  doubtless 
be  fitting  and  indicative  of  idealism — of  sorts. 
Therefore,  all  will  be  well.  Our  suspicions  will 
be  lulled.  It  is  high  time  that  a substitute  was 
found  for  “benevolent  protectorate.” 

The  particular  form  of  benevolence  noted  in 
Siam  was  the  total  inability  of  the  Siamese  to  ex- 
clude British  opium.  They  are  allowed,  by  the 
benevolent  powers,  to  impose  an  import  duty  on  all 
commodities  imported — except  opium.  That  is 
free.  The  treaty  between  Siam  and  Great  Britain 
in  1856  says  so.  We  rather  fancy  that  Great 
Britain  had  more  to  say  about  this  in  1856  than 
Siam,  but  maybe  not.  Anyway,  poor  old  Siam, 

26 


OPIUM  IN  SIAM 


27 


an  independent  kingdom,  is  bound  to  receive  as 
much  opium  as  may  be  imported,  and  is  quite 
powerless,  by  the  terms  of  this  treaty,  to  enact 
laws  to  exclude  it.  In  the  last  year  or  two,  the 
Government  of  Siam  has  been  obliged  to  put  the 
opium  traffic  under  government  control,  in  order 
to  minimize  the  worst  evils  in  connection  with  it, 
although  to  restrict  and  regulate  an  evil  is  a poor 
substitute  for  the  ability  to  abolish  it. 

All  this,  you  will  see,  is  rather  tough  on  the 
Siamese,  but  good  business  for  the  British  Empire. 

However,  opium  is  not  bad  for  one.  There  are 
plenty  of  people  to  testify  to  that.  We  Americans 
have  a curious  notion  to  the  contrary,  but  then, 
we  Americans  are  so  hysterical  and  gullible.  An 
Englishman  whom  we  met  in  Bangkok  told  me 
that  opium  was  not  only  harmless,  but  actually 
beneficial.  He  said  once  that  he  was  traveling 
through  the  jungle,  into  the  interior  somewhere. 
He  had  quite  a train  of  coolies  with  him,  carrying 
himself  and  his  baggage  through  the  dense  forests. 
By  nightfall,  he  found  his  coolies  terribly  exhausted 
with  the  long  march.  But  he  was  in  a hurry  to 
press  on,  so,  as  he  expressed  it,  he  gave  each  of 
them  a “shot”  of  morphia,  whereupon  all  traces 
of  fatigue  vanished.  They  forgot  the  pain  of 
their  weary  arms  and  legs  and  were  thus  enabled 
to  walk  all  night.  He  said  that  morphia  certainly 
knocked  a lot  of  work  out  of  men — you  might 
say,  doubled  their  capacity  for  endurance. 


28 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


The  night  we  left  Bangkok,  we  got  aboard  the 
boat  at  about  nine  in  the  evening.  The  hatch 
was  open,  and  we  looked  into  the  hold  upon  a 
crowd  of  coolies  who  had  been  loading  sacks  of 
rice  aboard  the  ship.  There  they  lay  upon  the 
rice  sacks,  two  or  three  dozen  of  them,  all  smoking 
opium.  Two  coolies  to  a lamp.  I rather  wondered 
that  a lamp  did  not  upset  and  set  the  boat  on 
fire,  but  they  are  made  of  heavy  glass,  with  wide 
bottoms,  so  that  the  chances  of  overturning  them 
are  slight.  So  we  leaned  over  the  open  hatch,  look- 
ing down  at  these  little  fellows,  resting  and  re- 
cuperating themselves  after  their  work,  refreshing 
themselves  for  the  labor  of  the  morrow. 

Opium  is  wonderful,  come  to  think  of  it.  But 
why,  since  it  is  so  beneficial  and  so  profitable, 
confine  it  to  the  downtrodden  races  of  the  world 
Why  limit  it  to  the  despised  races,  who  have  not 
sense  enough  to  govern  themselves  anyway? 

The  following  figures  are  taken  from  the  Statis- 
tical Year  Books  for  the  Kingdom  of  Siam: 

Foreign  trade  and  navigation  of  the  port  of 
Bangkok,  imports  of  opium: 

1911- 12  1,270  chests  of  opium 

1912- 13  1,775 

1913- 14  1,186 

1914- 15  2,000  Imported  from  India  and  Singapore. 

1915- 16  2,000 

1916- 17  1,100 

1917- 18  1,850 


OPIUM  IN  SIAM  29 

Also,  from  the  same  source,  we  find  the  number 
of  retail  opium  shops : 

1912- 13  2,985 

1913- 14  3,025 

1914- 15  3,132 

1915- 16  3,104 

1916- 17  3,111 


VII 


HONGKONG 

“The  Crown  Colony  of  Hongkong  was  ceded  by 
China  to  Great  Britain  in  January,  1841;  the  ces- 
sion was  confirmed  by  the  treaty  of  Nanking  in 
August,  1842;  and  the  charter  bears  date  April  5, 
1843.  Hongkong  is  the  great  center  for  British 
commerce  with  China  and  Japan,  and  a military 
and  naval  station  of  first-class  importance.” 

Thus  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book.  This  au- 
thority, however,  omits  to  mention  just  exactly 
hozv  this  important  piece  of  Chinese  territory  came 
to  be  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  It  was  the  reward 
that  Great  Britain  took  unto  herself  as  an  “in- 
demnity” following  the  successful  prosecution  of 
what  is  sometimes  spoken  of  as  the  first  opium 
war — a war  of  protest  on  the  part  of  China  against 
Great  Britain’s  insistance  on  her  right  to  deluge 
China  with  opium.  China’s  resistance  was  in 
vain — her  efforts  to  stem  the  tide  of  opium  were 
fruitless — the  might,  majesty,  dominion  and  power 
of  the  British  Empire  triumphed,  and  China  was 
beaten.  The  island  on  which  Hongkong  is  situated 
was  at  that  time  a blank  piece  of  land;  but  strat- 
egically well  placed — ninety  miles  south  of  the 
great  Chinese  city  of  Canton,  the  market  for 
British  opium. 


30 


HONGKONG 


31 


The  opposite  peninsula  of  Kowloon,  on  the 
mainland,  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  by  treaty 
in  1861,  and  now  forms  part  of  Hongkong.  By 
a convention  signed  at  Peking  in  June,  1898, 
there  was  also  leased  to  Great  Britain  for  99  years 
a portion  of  Chinese  territory  mainly  agricultural, 
together  with  the  waters  of  Mirs  Bay  and  Deep 
Bay,  and  the  island  of  Lan-tao.  Its  area  is  356 
square  miles,  with  about  91,000  inhabitants,  ex- 
clusively Chinese.  Area  of  Old  Kowloon  is  3 
square  miles.  Total  area  of  colony,  391  square 
miles. 

The  population  of  Hongkong,  excluding  the 
Military  and  Naval  establishments,  and  that 
portion  of  the  new  territory  outside  New  Kow- 
loon, was  according  to  the  19 ii  census,  366,145 
inhabitants.  Of  this  number  the  Chinese  num- 
bered 354,187. 

This  colony  is,  of  course,  governed  by  Great 
Britain,  and  is  not  subject  to  Chinese  control. 
Here  is  situated  a Government  opium  factory, 
and  the  imports  of  Indian  opium  into  Hongkong 
for  the  past  several  years  are  as  follows ; 


1903-  4 

3,576,431  pounds  sterling 

1904-  5 

4,036,436 

1905-  6 

3,775,826 

1906-  7 

3,771,409 

1907-  8 

3,145,403 

1908-  9 

2,230,755 

1909-10 

3,377,222 

32 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


1910- 11  3,963,264  pounds  sterlings 

1911- 12  3,019,858 

1912- 13  2,406,084 

1913- 14  1,084,093 

1914- 15  110,712 

These  figures  are  taken  from  “Statistical  Ab- 
stract Relating  to  British  India,  1905-6  to  1911- 
15,”  and  “ Statistical  Abstract  Relating  to  British 
India,  1903-4  to  1912-13.”  The  falling  off  in 
imports  of  opium  noticed  in  1914-15  may  be 
due  to  the  war,  lack  of  shipping,  etc.,  or  to  the 
fact  that  the  China  market  was  due  to  close  on 
April  I,  1917.  The  closing  of  the  China  market — 
400,000,000  of  people  destined  no  longer  to  have 
opium  supplied  to  them  (except  illegally,  by 
smuggling,  etc.)  is  naturally  a big  blow  to  the 
British  opium  interests.  That  is  where  the  men- 
ace to  the  rest  of  the  world  comes  In.  Opium  has 
been  proved  such  a profitable  commodity,  that 
if  one  market  is  shut  off,  others  must  be  found 
as  substitutes.  The  idea  of  closing  the  trade  al- 
together naturally  does  not  appeal  to  those  who 
profit  by  it.  Therefore,  what  we  should  hail  at 
first  sight  as  a welcome  indication  of  a changed 
moral  sentiment,  is  in  reality  but  the  pause  which 
proceeds  the  casting  about  for  new  markets,  for 
finding  new  peoples  to  drug. 

The  Colonial  Report  No.  972,  Hongkong  Re- 
port for  1917,  gives  the  imports  and  exports  of 
opium;  Page  7 — 


HONGKONG  33 

“The  imports  and  exports  of  certified  opium 
during  the  year  as  follows: 

Imports 7 chests 

Export 224  chests 

Of  these,  however,  the  imports  all  come  from 
Shanghai,  and  of  the  total  export  of  224  chests, 
186  went  to  Shanghai.” 

Opium  received  from  other  sources  than  Shang- 
hai makes  a better  showing.  “Seven  hundred 
and  forty  chests  of  Persian  opium  imported  during 
the  year,  and  seven  hundred  and  forty-five  ex- 
ported to  Formosa.  Nine  hundred  and  ten  chests 
of  uncertified  Indian  opium  were  imported:  Four 
hundred  and  ten  chests  by  the  Government  Mo- 
nopoly, and  the  remaining  five  hundred  for  the 
Macao  opium  farmer.” 

Macao  is  a small  island  off  the  coast  of  China, 
near  Canton — a Portuguese  settlement,  owned  by 
Portugal  for  several  centuries,  where  the  opium 
trade  is  in  full  blast.  But  somehow,  one  does  not 
expect  so  much  of  Portugal.  The  most  significant 
feature  of  the  above  paragraph,  however,  lies  in 
the  reference  to  the  importation  of  Persian  opium. 
“Seven  hundred  and  forty  chests  of  Persian  opium 
imported.”  Query,  who  owns  Persia  ? 

Nevertheless,  in  spite  of  this  poor  showing,  in 
spite  of  the  decrease  in  opium  importation  as  com- 
pared with  the  palmy  days,  all  is  not  lost.  The 
Crown  Colony  of  Hongkong  still  continues  to  do 


34 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


an  active  trade.  In  the  Colonial  Office  List  for 
1917,  on  page  218,  we  read: 

“Hongkong.  Revenue:  About  one-third  of  the 
revenue  is  derived  from  the  Opium  Monopoly.” 


VIII 


SARAWAK 

Near  British  North  Borneo.  Area,  42,000  square 
miles,  many  rivers  navigable.  The  government  of 
part  of  the  present  territory  was  obtained  in  1842 
by  Sir  James  Brooke  from  the  Sultan  of  Brunei. 
Various  accessions  were  made  between  1861,  1885, 
and  1890.  The  Rajah,  H.  H.  Sir  Charles  Johnson 
Brooke,  G.  C.M.G.,  nephew  to  the  late  Rajah,  born 
June  3,  1829,  succeeded  in  1868.  Population  es- 
timated at  500,000,  Malays,  Dyaks,  Kayans,  Ken- 
yahs,  and  Muruts,  with  Chinese  and  other  settlers. 

Thus  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book,  to  which  we 
would  add  a paragraph  from  an  article  in  the 
National  Geographic  Magazine  for  February, 
1919.  Under  the  title:  “Sarawak:  The  Land  of 
the  White  Rajahs”  we  read:  “With  the  recent 
death  of  Sir  Charles  Brooke,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  the 
second  of  the  white  rajahs  of  Sarawak,  there  came 
to  an  end  one  of  the  most  useful  and  unusual  careers 
among  the  many  that  have  done  credit  to  British 
rule  in  the  Far  East.  For  nearly  49  years  he  gov- 
erned, as  absolute  sovereign,  a mixed  population  of 
Chinese,  Malays,  and  numerous  pagan  tribes  scat- 
tered through  the  villages  and  dense  jungles  of  an  ex- 
tensive territory  on  the  northwest  coast  of  Borneo. 

“ Constant  solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  his  people 
35 


36 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


won  the  sympathy  and  devotion  which  enabled  this 
white  man,  supported  by  an  insignificant  army  and 
police,  to  establish  the  peaceful  occupations  of  civili- 
zationinplaceofbarbaroustyrannyandoppression.” 

How  thoroughly  this  “civilizing”  process  was 
accomplished  may  be  judged  somewhat  by  turning 
to  the  Colonial  Office  List  for  1917,  where  on 
page  436  we  read:  “Sarawak:  The  principal 
sources  of  revenue  are  the  opium,  gambling,  pawn 
shops,  and  arrack,  producing: 


1908  $483,019 

1909  460,416 

1910  385,070 

1911  420,151 

1912  426,867 

1913  492,455 


In  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book  for  1916  we  find  the 
total  revenue  for  this  well-governed  little  colony 
as  follows,  given  however  in  pounds  sterling,  in- 
stead of  dollars,  as  in  the  above  table.  Thus: 


Revenue — 1910 221,284  pounds  sterling 

1911  159,456 

1912  175,967 

1913  210,342 

1914  208,823 


It  would  seem  as  if  forty-nine  years  of  constant 
solicitude  for  the  welfare  of  a people,  establishing 
the  peaceful  occupations  of  civilization,  might  have 
resulted  in  something  better  than  a revenue  derived 
from  opium,  gambling,  pawn  shops  and  arrack. 


IX 


SHANGHAI 

In  the  New  York  Library  there  is  an  interesting 
little  book,  about  a quarter  of  an  inch  thick,  and 
easy  reading.  It  is  entitled:  “Municipal  Ethics: 
Some  Facts  and  Figures  from  the  Municipal  Ga- 
zette, 1907-19 14.  An  Examination  of  the  Opium 
License  policy  of  the  Shanghai  Municipality. 
In  an  Open  Letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the  Council, 
by  Arnold  Foster,  Wuchang.  For  42  years  Mis- 
sionary to  the  Chinese.” 

Shanghai,  being  a Treaty  Port,  is  of  two  parts. 
The  native  or  Shanghai  city,  under  the  control 
and  administration  of  the  Chinese.  And  the 
foreign  concessions,  that  part  of  the  city  under 
the  control  and  administration  of  foreigners.  This 
is  generally  known  as  the  International  Settle- 
ment (also  called  the  model  settlement),  and  the 
Shanghai  Municipal  Council  is  the  administrative 
body.  Over  this  part  the  Chinese  have  no  con- 
trol. In  1907,  when  China  began  her  latest 
fight  against  the  opium  evil,  she  enacted  and  en- 
forced drastic  laws  prohibiting  opium  smoking 
and  opium  selling  on  Chinese  soil,  but  was  power- 
less to  enforce  these  laws  on  “foreign”  soil.  In 
the  foreign  concessions,  the  Chinese  were  able  to 
buy  as  much  opium  as  they  pleased,  merely  by 

37 


38 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


Stepping  over  an  imaginary  line,  into  a portion  of 
the  town  where  the  rigid  anti-opium  laws  of  China 
did  not  apply. 

Says  Mr.  Arnold,  in  his  Open  Letter:  “It  will 
be  seen  that  the  title  of  the  pamphlet.  Municipal 
Ethics,  describes  a situation  which  is  a complex 
one.  It  concerns  first  the  actual  attitude  of  the 
Shanghai  Municipal  Council  towards  the  Chinese 
national  movement  for  the  suppression  of  the  use 
of  opium.  This,  we  are  assured  by  successive 
Chairmen  of  the  Council,  has  been  one  of  “sin- 
cere sympathy,”  “the  greatest  sympathy,”  and 
more  to  the  same  effect.  Certainly  no  one  would 
have  guessed  this  from  the  facts  and  figures  re- 
produced in  this  pamphlet  from  the  columns  of 
the  “ Municipal  Gazette.” 

“The  second  element  in  the  ethical  situation 
is  the  actual  attitude  of  the  Council  not  only 
towards  the  Chinese  national  movement,  but 
also  towards  its  own  official  assurances,  protesta- 
tions and  promises. 

“It  is  on  this  second  branch  of  the  subject 
before  us  that  I specially  desire  to  focus  attention, 
and  for  the  facts  here  stated  that  I would  bespeak 
the  most  searching  examination.  The  protesta- 
tions of  the  Council  as  to  its  own  virtuous  attitude 
in  regard  to  opium  reform  in  China  are  made  the 
more  emphatic,  and  also  the  more  open  to  criticism, 
by  being  coupled  with  some  very  severe  insinua- 
tions made  at  the  time,  as  to  the  insincerity  and 


SHANGHAI 


39 


unreliability  of  the  Chinese  authorities  in  what 
they  were  professing,  and  in  what  they  were  plan- 
ning to  do  in  the  same  matter  of  opium  reform.  It 
so  happens,  as  the  event  proves,  that  these  sneers 
and  insinuations  were  not  only  quite  uncalled 
for,  but  were  absolutely  and  utterly  unjust.  When 
a comparison  is  instituted  between  (a)  ‘official 
pronouncements’  made  two  years  ago  by  the 
Chinese  authorities  as  to  what  they  then  intended 
to  do  for  the  suppression  of  the  opium  habit, 
and  (b)  the  ‘actual  administrative  results’  that 
in  the  meanwhile  have  been  accomplished,  the 
Chinese  have  no  cause  to  be  ashamed  of  the  verdict 
of  impartial  judges.  What  they  have  done  may 
not  always  have  been  wise,  it  may  sometimes  have 
been  very  stern,  but  the  outcome  has  been  to 
awaken  the  astonishment  and  admiration  of  the 
whole  civilized  world!  When,  on  the  other  hand, 
a comparison  is  instituted  between  (a)  the  fine 
professions  and  assurances  of  the  Shanghai  Munic- 
ipal Council  made  six  or  seven  years  ago  as  to  its 
own  attitude  towards  the  ‘eradication  of  the 
opium  evil’  and  (b)  the  ‘actual  administrative 
results’  of  the  Council’s  own  proceedings,  the 
feelings  awakened  are  of  very  different  order. 
Here,  not  to  mention  any  other  consideration, 
two  hard  facts  stare  one  in  the  face;  First,  in 
October,  1907,  there  were  eighty-seven  licensed 
opium  shops  in  the  International  Settlement.  In 
May,  1914,  there  were  six  hundred  and  sixty- 


40 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


three.  In  1907  the  average  monthly  revenue  from 
opium  licenses,  dens  and  shops  combined,  was 
Taels  5,450.  In  May,  1914,  the  revenue  from 
licenses  and  opium  shops  alone  was  Taels  10,995. 
The  Council  will  not  dispute  these  figures.” 

At  the  beginning  of  the  anti-opium  campaign 
in  1907,  there  were  700  dens  (for  smoking)  in  the 
Native  City,  and  1600  in  the  International  Settle- 
ment. The  Chinese  closed  their  dens  and  shops  at 
once.  In  the  Settlement,  the  dens  were  not  all 
closed  until  two  years  later,  and  the  number  of 
shops  in  the  Settlement  increased  by  leaps  and 
bounds.  Table  I shows  an  outline  of  the  Munic- 
ipal opium-shop  profits  concurrent  with  the  clos- 
ing of  the  opium  houses — and  subsequently: 


Year  Month 

Dens 

Shops 

1908  Jan. 

1436 

87 

Oct. 

1005 

131 

1909  Jan. 

599 

166 

Oc^ 

297 

231 

1910  Oct. 

Closed 

306 

1911  Oct. 

348 

1912  Nov. 

402 

1913  Dec. 

560 

1914  March 

628 

April 

654 

Monthly  revenue,  shops  only 
Taels,  338 
623 
1,887 
2,276 

5.071 

5.415 

5.881 

8,953 

10,188 

10,772 


Mr.  Arnold  quotes  part  of  a speech  made  by  the 
Chairman  of  the  Municipal  Council,  in  March, 
1908.  The  Chairman  says  in  part:  “The  advice 
which  we  have  received  from  the  British  Govern- 


SHANGHAI 


41 


ment  is,  in  brief,  that  we  should  do  more  than  keep 
pace  with  the  native  authorities,  we  should  be  in 
advance  of  them,  and  where  possible,  encourage 
them  to  follow  us.”  It  must  have  been  most  dis- 
heartening to  the  native  authorities,  suppressing 
the  opium  traffic  with  the  utmost  rigor,  to  see 
their  efforts  defied  and  nullified  by  the  increased 
opportunities  for  obtaining  opium  in  that  part  of 
Shanghai  over  which  the  Chinese  have  no  control. 
A letter  from  a Chinese  to  a London  paper,  gives 
the  Chinese  point  of  view:  “China  . . . is  obliged 
to  submit  to  the  ruthless  and  heartless  manner 
in  which  British  merchants,  under  the  protection 
of  the  Shanghai  ‘Model  Settlement’  are  exploit- 
ing her  to  the  fullest  extent  of  their  ability.” 

There  is  lots  of  money  in  opium,  however.  The 
following  tables  compiled  by  Mr.  Arnold  show  the 
comparison  between  the  amount  derived  from 
opium  licenses  as  compared  with  the  amount  de- 
rived from  other  sorts  of  licenses. 


Wheelbarrows. . . . 

. . Taels,  38,670 

Carts 

22,944 

Motor  cars 

12,376 

Cargo  boats 

S>47i 

Chinese  boats. . . . 

4,798 

Steam  launches. . . 

2,221  Total,  86,480 

Opium  shops 

86,386  Opium,  86,386 

Another  table  shows  the  licensed  institutions  in 
Shanghai  representing  normal  social  life  (chiefly 


42 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


of  the  Chinese)  as  compared  with  revenue  from 
opium  shops; 


1913.  Tavern 

Foreign  liquor  seller 
Chinese  wine  shop. 

“ tea  shop. . 

“ theater. . . 

“ club 


Total 


Opium  shops. 


Taels,  16,573 

19,483 

28,583 

9,484 

8,714 

3,146 

85,983 

86,386 


Treaty  Ports  are  those  cities  in  China,  in  which 
the  foreign  powers  have  extra-territorial  holdings, 
not  subject  to  Chinese  jurisdiction.  Shanghai  is 
one  of  them,  the  largest  and  most  important. 
The  Statistical  Abstract  Relating  to  British  India 
for  1903-4  to  1912-13  shows  the  exports  of  British 
opium  into  these  Treaty  Ports. 

1903- 4  1,610,296  pounds  sterling 

1904- 5  1,504,604 

1905- 6  1,130,372 

1906- 7  1,031,065 

1907- 8  1,215,142 

1908- 9  2,703,871 

1909- 10  1,234,432 

1910- 11  2,203,670 

1911- 12  3,614,887 

1912- 13  3,242,902 

It  was  in  1907  that  China  began  her  great  fight 
against  the  opium  evil,  and  enacted  stringent 


SHANGHAI 


43 


laws  for  its  prohibition  on  Chinese  soil.  On  page 
1 5 of  his  little  book,  Mr.  Arnold  quotes  from  Com- 
missioner Carl,  of  Canton:  “The  1912  figure  (for 
the  importation  of  foreign  opium)  is  the  largest 
on  record  since  1895.  The  great  influx  of  Chinese 
into  the  foreign  concessions,  where  the  anti- 
opium smoking  regulations  cannot  be  enforced 
by  the  Chinese  authorities,  and  where  smoking 
can  be  indulged  in  without  fear  of  punishment, 
no  doubt  accounts  for  the  unusual  increase  under 
foreign  opium.” 


X 


INDIA 

India  is  the  source  and  fount  of  the  British  opium 
trade,  and  it  is  from  Indian  opium  that  the  drug 
is  chiefly  supplied  to  the  world.  As  we  have  said 
before,  it  is  a government  monopoly.  Cultivators, 
who  wish  to  plant  poppies,  may  borrow  money 
from  the  Government  free  of  interest,  the  sole 
condition  being  that  the  crop  be  sold  back  to  the 
Government  again.  It  is  manufactured  into  opium 
at  the  Government  factory  at  Ghazipur,  and  once 
a month,  the  Government  holds  auctions  at  Cal- 
cutta, by  means  of  which  the  drug  finds  its  way 
into  the  trade  channels  of  the  world — illicit  and 
otherwise.* 

* This  description  of  the  Opium  Department  is  to  be  found  in 
Statistics  of  British  India,  Financial  Statistics,  Vol.  II,  8th  Issue, 
page  159: 

OPIUM.  The  region  in  which  the  poppy  was  cultivated  in  1916- 
17  for  the  manufacture  of  “Bengal  opium”  comprises  32  districts  of 
the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Ouhd.  The  whole  Department 
has,  with  effect  from  the  29th  September,  1910,  been  under  the  con- 
trol of  one  Opium  Agent,  with  headquarters  at  Ghazipur.  At  Ghazi- 
pur there  is  a Government  factory  where  the  crude  opium  is  manu- 
factured into  the  form  in  which  it  passes  into  consumption.  The 
cultivation  of  the  poppy  and  the  manufacture  of  opium  are  regulated 
by  Act  XIII  of  1857,  as  amended  by  Act  I of  1911,  and  are  under 
the  general  control  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  and  the  Board  of 
Revenue  of  the  United  Provinces,  and  the  immediate  supervision 
of  the  Opium  Agent  at  Ghazipur.  The  possession,  transport,  import 

44 


INDIA 


45 


The  following  facts  are  taken  from  “Statistics 
of  British  India.  Financial  Statistics,  Volume  II, 

and  export  of  opium  are  regulated  by  rules  framed  under  the  Indian 
Opium  Act.  Cultivation  is  permitted  only  under  licenses  granted 
under  the  authority  of  the  Opium  Agent.  The  area  to  be  cultivated 
is  fixed  by  the  license,  and  the  cultivator  is  bound  to  sell  the  whole 
of  his  production  to  the  Opium  Department  at  the  rate  fixed  by 

Government Advances,  on  which  no  interest  is  charged, 

are  given  to  licensed  cultivators  at  the  time  of  executing  the  agree- 
ment and  from  time  to  time  (though  ordinarily  no  more  than  two 
advances  are  given)  until  final  delivery.  In  March,  April  and  May 
the  opium  is  made  over  to  the  officers  of  the  Department,  and  weighed 
and  tested,  and  as  soon  as  possible  afterwards  each  cultivator’s  ac- 
counts are  adjusted,  and  the  balance  due  is  paid  him.  After  weigh- 
ment  the  opium  is  forwarded  to  the  Government  factory  at  Ghazipur, 
where  it  is  manufactured  in  3 forms — (a)  opium  intended  for  export 
to  foreign  countries,  departmentally  known  as  “provision  opium” — 
(b)  opium  intended  for  consumption  in  India  and  Burma,  depart- 
mentally known  as  “excise  opium”  and  (c)  medical  opium  for  ex- 
port to  London.  Provision  opium  is  made  up  in  the  form  of  balls  or 
cakes,  each  weighing  3.5  lbs.,  and  is  packed  in  chests,  each  chest  con- 
taining forty  cakes,  weighing  140  1/7  lbs.  It  is  generally  of  71°  effi- 
ciency. Excise  opium  is  made  up  in  cubical  packets,  each  weighing 
one  seer,  60  of  which  are  packed  in  a case.  It  is  of  higher  consistency 
than  the  “provision  opium.”  Medical  opium  is  made  up  into  cakes 
weighing  2 lbs.  Provision  opium  is  sold  by  public  auction  in  Calcutta. 
A notification  is  published  annually,  generally  about  the  month  of 
June,  stating  the  number  of  chests  which  will  be  put  up  for  sale  in 
each  month  of  the  next  calendar  year,  and  the  quantities  so  notified 
are  not  altered  without  three  months  notice.  Sales  are  conducted 
month  by  month  by  the  Bengal  Government;  7,000  chests  were  noti- 
fied for  sale  in  1917  for  shipment  to  non-China  markets.  The  number 
of  chests  actually  sold  was  4,615.  In  addition  to  this,  4,500  chests 
were  sold  to  the  Government  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  2,200  to  the 
Government  of  Netherland  Indies,  and  410  to  the  Government  of 
Hongkong.  The  duty  levied  by  Government  on  each  chest  may  be 
taken  to  be  the  difference  between  the  average  price  realized  and  the 
average  cost. 


46 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


Eighth  Issue,”  to  be  found  at  the  New  York 
Public  Library: 

Area  under  Poppy  Cultivation 

Acreage:  1910-11  362,868 

1911- 12  200,672 

1912- 13  178,263 

1913- 14  144,561 

1914- 15  164,911 

1915- 16  167,155 

1916- 17  204,186 

In  the  hey-dey  of  the  China  trade,  613,996  acres 
were  under  cultivation  in  the  years  1905-6,  con- 
sequently this  is  a drop  in  the  extent  of  acreage. 
But,  as  we  have  said  before,  the  closing  of  the 
China  market  simply  means  that  other  outlets 
must  be  found,  and  apparently  they  are  being 
found,  since  from  1914  onwards,  the  acreage  de- 
voted to  poppy  planting  is  slowly  increasing  again. 

The  opium  manufactured  in  the  Government 
factory  is  of  three  kinds — provision  opium  for 
export;  excise  opium,  for  consumption  in  India, 
and  medical  opium,  for  export  to  London.  It  is 
this  latter  form  of  opium  which,  according  to  Mr. 
MacDonald,  in  his  “Trade  Politics  and  Chris- 
tianity in  Africa  and  the  East”  is  being  manu- 
factured into  morphia  by  three  British  firms,  two 
in  Edinburgh  and  one  in  London,  which  morphia 
the  Japanese  are  buying  and  smuggling  into  North 
China. 


INDIA 


47 


The  “Statistics  of  British  India”  shows  the 
countries  into  which  Indian  opium  has  been  ex- 
ported: we  will  take  the  figures  for  the  last  five 
years,  which  show  the  number  of  chests  sent  out. 


the  opium  monopoly 


Ov 


Q ON  O 
O 

to  N 


O O O tovo  O 
N 00  -nI-  NO  VO  I-I 
w O^  ro  t'. 

to  w"  rT  00“ 


NO 


C\ 


ThioOvtotoioiooovo 
toO  OvVOVO  cotO'd-QO 
VO  w O 00  N 

N to  OO” 


Vo 

0 ^ 

00 

0 

s 

0 

On 

00 

1 

M- 

N 

M 

O' 

s 

O O O 00 
O'  to  VO  to 
vq^  VO  >1  oo_ 

N n'  to  O 


I 

i:? 

O' 

s 


*->  t''  tr>  O'  i_r)  IT)  IT) 
VO  to  i-H  M o VO 
to  w >1  00  c'j 
to 


O'  vq 

N o 

O'  O' 


to  to  00  h-i  o 

S O'  11  H. 

I to  O 


O'  to 


O to  O to 
to  O >-<  1 
00  o 00  to 
to  cT  *1 
to 


a 

o 

TJ 

00 

c 

X) 

<u 


c 

'Ja 

U 

a 


c 

3 -2  ^ 

to  ^ 


^ c ^ S'  O ^ 
u w p u u 


c: 
p 

o 
u 
u 

<D 

^ O 

O H 


cS 


INDIA 


49 


In  some  countries  we  see  a falling  off,  as  in  China. 
Cochin-China,  the  French  colony,  shows  a con- 
siderable increase — the  little  Annamites,  Ton- 
quinese,  Cambodgians  and  other  inhabitants  of 
this  colony  of  the  French  Republic  being  shown 
what’s  what.  Mauretius,  a British  Colony  five 
hundred  miles  off  the  coast  of  Madagascar,  in  the 
Indian  ocean,  seems  to  be  coming  on.  The  falling 
off  in  shipments  to  the  United  Kingsom  may 
possibly  have  been  due  to  the  war  and  the  scarcity 
of  ships.  “Other  countries”  seem  to  be  holding 
their  own.  With  the  end  of  the  war,  the  increase 
in  ships,  and  general  trade  revival,  we  may  yet 
see  compensation  for  the  loss  of  China.  With  the 
increase  of  drug  addicts  in  the  United  States, 
it  may  be  that  in  time  America  will  no  longer 
be  classed  under  “other  countries”  but  will  have 
a column  all  to  itself. 

In  another  table  we  find  a comparison  as  to  the 
number  of  chests  of  provision  or  export  opium  and 
of  excise  opium,  or  that  intended  for  consump- 
tion in  India.  Thus: 


Provision  Opium 

Excise  Opium 

I9I0-II 

15,000  chests 

8,611  chests 

I9II-I2 

14,000 

9,126 

I9I2-I3 

7,000 

9,947 

I9I3-I4 

12,000 

8,307 

I9I4-IS 

10,000 

8,943 

1915-16 

12,000 

8,391 

1916-17 

12,000 

8,732 

50 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


Each  chest  contains  roughly  about  one  hund’^ed 
and  forty  pounds. 


Revenue 

The  revenue  of  India  is  derived  from  various 
sources,  and  is  classified  under  eight  heads.  Thus: 
for  1916-17. 


1.  Land 
Forest 

Tribute  from  Native 

States 

II.  Opium 

III.  Taxation: 

1.  Salt 

2.  Stamps 

3.  Excise 

4.  Customs 

5.  Provincial  rates 

6.  Income  tax 

7.  Registration 

IV.  Debt  Services 

V.  Civil  Services 

VI.  Military  Services 

VII.  Commercial: 

1.  Post 

2.  Telegraph 

3.  Railways 

4.  Irrigation 

VIII.  Miscellaneous  Receipts..  . . 

Grand  total 


Total  £25,124,489 
3,160,005 


32,822,976 

1,136,504 

2,364,985 

1,575,946 


51,393,566 

1,221,497 

£118,799,968 


INDIA  51 

Out  of  these  eight  classifications,  opium  comes 
fourth  on  the  list. 

But  in  addition  to  the  direct  opium  revenue, 
we  must  add  another  item,  Excise,  which  is 
found  under  the  third  heading,  taxation.  In  the 
“India  Office  List  for  1918”  we  find  “Excise” 
explained  as  follows:  Page  383:  “Excise  and 
Customs:  Excise  duties  in  India  are  levied  with 
the  two  fold  object  of  raising  revenue  and  re- 
stricting the  use  of  intoxicants  and  narcotics.” 
In  the  same  book,  on  page  385,  we  also  read:  “Ex- 
cise and  Customs  Revenues:  The  total  of  the  ex- 
cise and  customs  revenues  on  liquors  and  drugs 
in  1915-16  was  in  round  figures  ten  million  pounds. 
This  total  gives  an  average  of  rather  more  than 
ninepence  a head  on  the  whole  population  of 
British  India  as  the  revenue  charge  on  drink  and 
drugs  during  the  year.” 

These  excise  duties  are  collected  on  spirits,  beer, 
opium  and  intoxicating  drugs,  such  as  ganja, 
charas,  and  bhang,  all  forms  or  preparations  of 
Indian  hemp  (Cannabis  Indica),  known  in  some 
countries  as  hashish.  In  1917-18  there  were  17,369 
drug  shops  throughout  India.  The  excise  duties 
collected  from  these  sources  was  pretty  evenly 
distributed.  Excise  revenue  for  a period  of  years 
is  as  follows: 


52 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


Excise 

Opium 

Total  Revenue 

1907- 

-8 

£6,214,210 

£5,244,986 

£88,670,329 

1908-9 

6,389,628 

5,884,788 

86,074,624 

1909- 

-10 

6,537,854 

5,534,683 

91,130,296 

I9IO-II 

7,030,314 

7,521,962 

97,470,114 

I9II- 

-12 

7,609,753 

5,961,278 

100,580,799 

1912- 

-13 

8,277,919 

5,124,592 

106,254,327 

1913- 

-14 

8,894,300 

1,624,878 

105,220,777 

1914- 

-IS 

8,856,881 

1,572,218 

101,534,375 

I9IS- 

-16 

8,63  2,209 

1,913,514 

104,704,041 

1916- 

-17 

9,215,899 

3,160,005 

118,799,968 

The  “Statistics  of  British  India  for  1918”  has 
this  to  say  on  the  subject  of  Excise  (page  218): 
“Revenue:  During  the  ten  years  ending  with 
1916-17  the  net  receipts  from  Excise  duties  in- 
creased ...  at  the  rate  of  47  per  cent.  The  re- 
ceipts from  opium  (consumed  in  India,  not  ex- 
ported) being  at  the  rate  of  44  per  cent.  The  net 
receipts  from  liquors  and  from  drugs  other  than 
opium  . . . the  increase  at  the  rate  of  48  per 
cent.  This  large  increase  is  due  not  merely  to 
the  expansion  of  consumption,  but  also  to  the 
imposition  of  progressively  higher  rates  of  duty 
and  the  increasingly  extensive  control  of  the  ex- 
cise administration.  The  revenue  from  drugs, 
(excluding  opium)  has  risen  in  ten  years  . . . the 
increase  being  at  the  rate  of  67  per  cent.” 

A national  psychology  that  can  review  these 
figures  with  complacency,  satisfaction  and  pride 
is  not  akin  to  American  psychology.  A nation 


INDIA 


53 


that  can  subjugate  300,000,000  helpless  people,  and 
then  turn  them  into  drug  addicts — for  the  sake 
of  revenue — is  a nation  which  commits  a cold-' 
blooded  atrocity  unparalleled  by  any  atrocities 
committed  in  the  rage  and  heat  of  war.  The 
Blue  Book  shows  no  horror  at  these  figures.  Com- 
placent approval  greets  the  increase  of  44  per  cent 
of  opium  consumption,  and  the  increase  of  67  per 
cent  in  the  use  of  other  habit-forming  drugs.  Ap- 
proval, and  a shrewd  appreciation  of  the  possibili- 
ties for  more  revenue  from  “progressively  higher 
rates  of  duty,”  knowing  well  that  drug  addicts 
will  sell  soul  and  body  in  order  to  procure  their 
daily  supply. 


XI 


TURKEY  AND  PERSIA 

Next  to  India,  the  greatest  two  opium-producing 
countries  in  the  world  are  Turke7  and  Persia. 
The  Statesman’s  Year  Book  for  1918  has  this  to 
say  about  it.  On  page  1334:  “The  principal  ex- 
ports from  Turkey  into  the  United  Kingdom  . . . 
in  two  years  were: 


191S  1916 

Barley £156,766  £49,413 

Raisins 127,014  34,003 

Dried  fruit 375, Si9  540,633 

Wool 36,719  143,216 

Tobacco 149,100  3,711 

Opium 262,293  48,090 


These  are  the  only  articles  mentioned  in  this  list 
of  chief  exports.  There  are  others,  doubtless,  but 
the  Statesman’s  Year  Book  is  a condensed  and 
compact  little  volume,  dealing  only  with  the 
principal  things  exported.  In  1915  we  therefore 
notice  that  the  opium  export  was  second  on  the 
list,  being  exceeded  by  but  one  other,  dried  fruit. 
In  1916,  the  third  year  of  the  war,  the  opium  ex- 
port is  decidedly  less,  as  are  all  the  other  articles 
exported,  except  dried  fruit  and  wool — which  w'ere 
articles  probably  more  vital  to  the  United  King- 
dom at  that  time  even  than  opium. 

54 


PERSIA 


The  same  authority,  the  Statesman’s  Year  Book 
for  1918,  gives  a table  on  page  1162,  showing  the 
value  of  the  chief  exports  from  Persia.  The  values 
are  given  in  thousands  of  kran,  sixty  kran  equaling 
one  pound  sterling. 

1914-15 

Opium 4I>446  kran  4I5732  kran 

Since  the  war,  both  Turkey  and  Persia  are  more 
or  less  under  control  of  the  British  Empire,  which 
gives  Great  Britain  virtual  control  of  the  world’s 
output  of  opium.  With  this  monopoly  of  the 
opium-producing  countries,  and  with  a million 
or  so  square  miles  added  to  her  immense  colonial 
Empire,  one  wonders  what  use  Great  Britain  will 
make  of  the  mandatory  powers  she  has  assumed 
over  the  lives  and  welfare  of  all  these  subject 
peoples!  Will  she  find  these  helpless  millions 
ready  for  her  opium  trade  Will  she  establish 
opium  shops,  and  opium  divans,  and  reap  half 
the  costs  of  upkeep  of  these  newly  acquired  states 
by  means  of  this  shameful  traffic? 


55 


XII 


MAURETIUS 

Another  British  colony  is  Mauretius,  acquired 
by  conquest  in  i8io,  and  formally  ceded  to  Great 
Britain  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1814.  This 
island  is  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  500  miles  east  of 
Madagascar,  with  an  area  of  about  720  square 
miles.  The  population  is  about  377,000,  of  which 
number  258,000  are  Indian,  and  3,000  Chinese. 
Opium  appears  to  be  sold  in  the  colony,  since  the 
Blue  Book  mentions  that  licenses  are  required 
for  opium  sellers.  As  far  as  we  can  discover,  by 
perusal  of  these  Government  Reports,  the  sale 
of  opium  is  not  conducted  by  the  Government 
itself,  as  in  India,  the  Straits  Settlements,  Hong- 
kong, etc.,  but  is  carried  on  by  private  dealers 
who  obtain  licenses  before  they  can  open  opium 
shops.  A part  of  the  revenue,  however,  is  de- 
rived from  opium;  thus,  according  to  the  Blue 
Book  for  the  Colony  of  Mauretius  for  1915,  page 
V 73,  we  read  that  the  imports  of  opium  for  the 
year  amounted  to  1,353  kilos,  with  a duty  col- 
lected of  54,126  rupees.  The  Blue  Book  for  1916 
shows  a gratifying  increase.  Thus,  the  import  of 
crude  opium  from  India  amounted  to  5,690  kilos, 
with  a duty  collected  of  227,628  rupees.  (See 
page  V 64.) 

S6 


MAURETIUS 


57 


igiS  1916 

Imports  of  opium . . 1,353  kilos  5,690  kilos 

Duty  on  opium. ...  54,126  rupees  227,628  rupees 

Total  duty  on  all 

imports 3,765,677  rupees  4,143,085  rupees 

Statistics  for  British  India,  Eighth  Issue,  gives 
these  figures: 

Opium  exported  to  Mauretius 


1912-13 

I9I3-I4 

. ...  19  “ 

I9I4-IS 

. ...  23  “ 

1915-16 

....65  “ 

1916-17 

. ...  120  “ 

This  is  a poor  little  colony,  but  has  its  possibilities. 
The  consumption  of  opium  appears  to  be  increas- 
ing steadily  in  a most  satisfactory  manner.  Con- 
gratulations all  round. 


XIII 


BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO 

British  North  Borneo  occupies  the  northern 
part  of  the  island  of  Borneo.  Area,  about  31,000 
square  miles,  with  a coast  line  of  over  900  miles. 
Population  (1911  census),  208,000,  consisting 
mainly  of  Mohammedan  settlers  on  the  coast 
and  aboriginal  tribes  inland.  The  Europeans 
numbered  355;  Chinese  26,000;  Malays,  1,612; 
East  Indians  about  5,000  and  Filipinos  5,700. 
The  number  of  natives  cannot  be  more  than  ap- 
proximately estimated,  but  is  placed  at  about 
170,000.  The  territory  is  under  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  British  North  Borneo  Company,  being 
held  under  grants  from  the  Sultans  of  Brunei 
and  Sulu  (Royal  Charter  in  1881). 

Like  many  other  British  colonies,  opium  is 
depended  upon  for  part  of  the  revenue.  The 
Statesman’s  Year  Book  for  1916  observes  on 
page  107:  “Sources  of  revenue:  Opium,  birds’ 
nests,  court  fees,  stamp  duty,  licenses,  import 
and  export  duties,  royalties,  land  sales,  etc.  No 
public  debt.” 

In  this  frank  manner,  our  attention  is  called  to 
opium,  which  appears  first  on  the  list  of  sources  of 
revenue. 

Going  over  the  files  of  the  Government  reports, 
58 


BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO 


59 


we  will  begin  with  the  “Supplement  to  the  Official 
Gazette  for  British  North  Borneo.  Administra- 
tion Report  for  the  Year  1910.”  Published  June  i, 
1911.  On  page  3 we  read:  Customs  and  Trade: 
The  import  and  export  trade  of  the  state  shows 
a healthy  , expansion.  ...  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  imports  show  an  increase  at  every  sta- 
tion. Out  of  the  47  headings  of  Tariff,  there  are 
only  7 which  show  decreases.  . . . The  largest 
increases  appear  under  cloth,  $147,1065  opium, 
$132,692,  and  iron  ware,  $118,620.  . . . The 
general  all  round  increases  . . . are  of  course 
due  to  the  demand  for  supplies  of  all  kinds  in  con- 
nection with  the  opening  of  rubber  estates.” 

The  Supplement  to  the  Official  Gazette,  Report 
for  1912  (published  in  December,  1913)  is  also  a 
report  of  general  prosperity.  Page  4:  “Trade: 
The  volume  of  trade  for  the  year  1912  was 
$11,139,122,  giving  an  increase  over  1911  of  18 
per  cent.  . . . Imports:  As  in  1911,  all  stations 
show  an  increase  of  imports.  Out  of  47  headings, 
33  show  increases,  12  show  decreases,  and  2 re- 
main stationary.  Increases:  There  was  an  increase 
under  rice,  flour  and  grain  . . . the  increase 
under  other  headings  include  sundries,  opium, 
machinery,  etc.” 

The  next  Government  Report  is  not  so  happy. 
Opium  imports  show  no  healthy,  expansion.” 
Thus,  the  Supplement  to  the  Official  Gazette, 
Report  for  1913  (published  i February,  1915) 


6o 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


says  on  page  4:  “Other  decreases  in  imports  were 
opium,  $109,180.  The  decrease  in  opium  was  due 
to  the  abolition  of  the  Opium  Farm,  which  also 
held  the  Labuan  Farm,  and  opium  was  therefore 
no  longer  imported  from  Labuan  for  use  in  the 
West  Coast  and  the  Interior.” 

Still  more  bad  news  as  to  opium,  in  the  re- 
port for  1914,  (published  i February,  1916).  All 
imports  drop.  Page  4 records  “Decrease  in 
imports.  . . . Railway  and  telegraph  material, 
rice,  flour,  grain  and  opium.”  In  this  year  the 
opium  imports  only  amount  to  $58,464.  This 
general  falling  off  in  all  imports  may  have  been 
due  to  the  war.  But  the  opium  situation  was 
apparently  growing  serious.  On  page  17  of  this 
same  report  we  read  that  “Thirty-two  ordinances 
were  passed  by  the  Council  and  became  laws  dur- 
ing the  year.  Among  them  the  Opium  and 
Chandu.” 

The  brevity  and  meagerness  of  these  official 
reports  often  leave  one  puzzled  as  to  their  meaning. 
The  Supplement  to  the  Official  Gazette  for  1915 
(published  October,  1916),  shows  still  more  dis- 
couraging news  as  to  opium.  Imports  that  year 
amounted  to  only  $31,299.  But,  in  spite  of  this 
discouragement,  hope  still  remains.  The  same 
report  shows  optimism  under  the  head  of  Excise. 
“Excise;  $627,225,  against  $467,078,  an  increase 
in  the  nett  revenue  of  $160,147,  due  to  Govern- 
ment taking  over  the  sole  control  of  the  sale  of 


BRITISH  NORTH  BORNEO 


6l 


chandu  (smoking  opium)  and  the  collection  of 
other  Excise  duties,  formerly  farmed.” 

This  explains  the  Ordinance  passed  by  the 
Council  the  preceding  year,  regarding  Opium  and 
Chandu.  Since  the  Government  has  taken  over 
“sole  control  of  the  sale  of  chandu”  and  will  collect 
the  excise  duties  systematically  and  thoroughly, 
we  may  still  hope  for  some  future  report  which 
will  show  once  more  a “healthy  expansion”  in 
the  opium  revenue. 


XIV 


BRITISH  GUIANA 

Situated  in  South  America.  Area,  89,480  square 
miles.  Population  at  census  of  1911,  excluding 
aborigines  in  the  unfrequented  parts  of  the  colony, 
296,000.  The  Statesman’s  Year  Book,  which 
gives  us  these  brief  facts,  has  very  little  to  say 
about  this  British  colony  in  our  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, and  gives  no  dates  or  information  as  to 
how  and  when  it  was  acquired.  The  Government 
reports  are  also  meager  and  unsatisfactory,  and 
there  is  no  wealth  of  detail  as  to  exports  and  im- 
ports. The  country,  however,  is  rich  in  gold, 
mining  having  commenced  in  1886.  Diamonds 
have  also  been  discovered. 

The  chief  sources  of  revenue,  however,  are 
customs,  excise  and  licenses.  With  the  word  “ex- 
cise” we  have  come  to  have  unpleasant  associa- 
tions. From  “The  Statistical  Abstract  for  British 
Self-Governing  Dominions,  Colonies,  Possessions 
and  Protectorates”  we  find  a table  showing  the 
imports  of  opium  into  the  various  countries  under 
British  rule.  The  opium  imports  into  British 
Guiana  are  as  follows: 


62 


BRITISH  GUIANA 


63 


1910  ij^Si  pounds  sterling 

1911  Ij270 

1912  2,474 

1913  4,452 

1914  5,455 

1915  4,481 


These  figures  would  seem  to  indicate  that  even  on 
the  Western  Hemisphere  the  taste  for  opium  may 
be  cultivated.  It  need  not  necessarily  be  confined 
to  the  Oriental  peoples.  The  population  of  much 
of  South  America  is  a mixed  lot,  the  result  of 
mixed  breeding  between  Spanish  settlers,  Indians, 
native  tribes  of  all  sorts.  All  this  jumble,  in- 
cluding the  aborigines  referred  to,  might,  with  a 
little  teaching  become  profitable  customers  of 
the  Opium  Monopoly.  Time  and  a little  effort, 
given  this  fertile  field,  ought  to  produce  a “healthy 
expansion”  in  the  opium  trade. 

And  that  this  insidious  habit  is  indeed  taking 
hold,  in  at  least  one  more  country  in  South 
America,  one  may  infer  from  the  following  para- 
graph which  appeared  in  the  New  York  Times, 
4 October,  1919: 

DRUG  EVIL  IN  ARGENTINA 

Buenos  Aires  Opens  Fight  on  Use  of  Narcotics 

The  city  government  of  Buenos  Aires,  Argentina,  has 
begun  a determined  fight  to  wipe  out  the  drug  evil  by 
the  enactment  of  stringent  laws  governing  the  sale 


1 


64  THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 

of  narcotics.  This  step  was  taken  after  an  investiga- 
tion by  the  authorities  had  disclosed  that  not  only 
was  the  narcotic  habit  strong  among  the  poor,  but  that 
it  was  spreading  throughout  virtually  every  class  in 
the  city. 

Until  the  passage  of  the  laws  druggists  were  permitted 
to  sell  cocaine,  morphine  and  opium  to  any  purchaser. 
The  new  laws  forbid  the  sale  of  these  drugs  except  in 
filling  prescriptions  prepared  by  registered  physicians. 
The  city  also  has  established  dispensaries  for  the  treat- 
ment of  drug  addicts. 


XV 


HISTORY  OF  THE  OPIUM  TRADE  IN 
CHINA 

In  a vague  way,  we  are  familiar  with  the  “opium 
evil”  in  China,  and  some  of  us  have  hazy  ideas 
as  to  how  it  came  about.  The  China  Year  Book 
for  1916  has  this  to  say  on  the  subject:  “The  poppy 
has  been  known  in  China  for  12  centuries,  and  its 
medicinal  use  for  9 centuries.  ...  It  was  not 
until  the  middle  of  the  17th  century  that  the 
practice  of  mixing  opium  with  tobacco  for  smok- 
ing purposes  was  introduced  into  China.  This 
habit  was  indulged  in  by  the  Dutch  in  Java,  and 
by  them  taken  to  Formosa,  whence  it  spread  to 
Amoy  and  the  mainland  generally.  There  is  no 
record  to  show  when  opium  was  first  smoked  by 
itself,  but  it  is  thought  to  have  originated  about 
the  end  of  the  i8th  century.  Foreign  opium 
was  first  introduced  by  the  Portuguese  from  Goa 
at  the  beginning  of  the  i8th  century.  In  1729, 
when  the  foreign  import  was  200  chests,  the  Em- 
peror Yung  Ching  issued  the  first  anti-opium 
edict,  enacting  severe  penalties  on  the  sale  of 
opium  and  the  opening  of  opium-smoking  divans. 
The  importation,  however,  continued  to  increase, 
and  by  1790  it  amounted  to  over  4,000  chests 
annually.  In  1796  opium  smoking  was  again 

6s 


66 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


prohibit^,  and  in  1800  the  importation  of  foreign 
opium  4vas  again  declared  illegal.  Opium 
now  contraband,  but  the  fact  had  no  effect  on 
the  quantity  Introduced  into  the  country,  which 
rose  to  5,000  chests  in  1820;  16,000  chests  in  1830; 
20,000  chests  In  1838,  and  70,000  chests  in  1858.” 

The  China  Year  Book  makes  no  mention  of  the 
traders  who  carried  these  chests  of  opium  into 
China.  The  opium  came  from  India,  however, 
and  the  increase  In  importation  corresponds  with 
the  British  occupation  of  India,  and  the  golden 
days  of  the  East  India  Company.  “Opium  was 
now  contraband,  but  that  fact  had  no  effect  on 
the  quantity  introduced  into  the  country,” — 
smuggled  in  wholesale  by  the  enterprising  British 
traders. 

China  was  powerless  to  protect  herself  from  this 
menace,  either  by  protests  or  prohibition.  And  as 
more  and  more  of  the  drug  was  smuggled  in,  and 
more  and  more  of  the  people  became  victims  of  the 
habit,  the  Chinese  finally  had  a tea-party,  very 
much  like  our  Boston  Tea  Party,  but  less  success- 
ful in  outcome.  In  1839,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
opium  smoking  is  an  easy  habit  to  acquire  and 
had  been  extensively  encouraged,  the  British 
traders  found  themselves  with  20,000  chests  of 
unsold  opium  on  their  store-ships,  just  below 
Canton.  The  Chinese  had  repeatedly  appealed  to 
the  British  Government  to  stop  these  imports, 
but  the  British  Government  h^d  turned  a per- 


HISTORY  OF  THE  OPIUM  TRADE  IN  CHINA  67 

sistently  deaf  ear.  Therefore  the  Emperor  de- 
termined to  deal  with  the  matter  on  his  own  ac- 
count. He  sent  a powerful  official  named  Lin 
to  attend  to  it,  and  Lin  had  a sort  of  Boston  Tea 
Party,  as  we  have  said,  and  destroyed  some  twenty 
thousand  chests  of  opium  in  a very  drastic  way. 
Mr.  H.  Wells  Williams  describes  it  thus:  “The 
opium  was  destroyed  in  the  most  thorough  manner, 
by  mixing  it  in  parcels  of  200  chests,  in  trenches, 
with  lime  and  salt  water,  and  then  drawing  off 
the  contents  into  an  adjacent  creek  at  low  tide.” 

After  this  atrocity,  followed  the  first  Opium 
War,  when  British  ships  sailed  up  the  river,  seized 
port  after  port,  and  bombarded  and  took  Canton. 
Her  ships  sailed  up  the  Yangtsze,  and  captured 
the  tribute  junks  going  up  the  Grand  Canal  with 
revenue  to  Peking,  thus  stopping  a great  part  of 
China’s  income.  Peace  was  concluded  in  1843, 
and  Great  Britain  came  out  well.  She  recom- 
pensed herself  by  taking  the  island  of  Hongkong; 
an  indemnity  of  21  million  dollars,  and  Canton, 
Amoy,  Foochow,  Ningpo  and  Shanghai  were 
opened  up  as  “treaty  ports” — for  the  importation 
of  opium  and  the  “open-door”  in  general. 

Mr.  Wells,  in  his  “Middle  Kingdom”  de- 
scribes the  origin  of  this  first  war  with  England: 
“This  war  was  extraordinary  in  its  origin  as 
growing  chiefly  out  of  a commercial  misunder- 
standing; remarkable  in  its  course  as  being  waged 
between  strength  and  weakness,  conscious  su- 


68 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


periority  and  ignorant  pride;  melancholy  in  its 
end  as  forcing  the  weaker  to  pay  for  opium  within 
its  borders  against  all  its  laws,  thus  paralyzing 
the  little  moral  power  its  feeble  government  could 
exert  to  protect  its  subjects.  ...  It  was  a turn- 
ing point  in  the  national  life  of  the  Chinese  race, 
but  the  compulsory  payment  of  six  million  dollars 
for  the  opium  destroyed  has  left  a stigma  upon  the 
English  name.” 

He  also  says,  “The  conflict  was  now  fairly  begun; 
its  issue  between  the  parties  so  unequally  matched 
— one  having  almost  nothing  but  the  right  on  its 
side,  the  other  assisted  by  every  material  and 
physical  advantage — could  easily  be  foreseen” 
and  again,  after  speaking  of  it  as  as  being  unjust 
and  immoral,  he  concludes  “Great  Britain,  the 
first  Christian  power,  really  waged  this  war  against 
the  pagan  monarch  who  had  only  endeavored  to 
put  down  a vice  harmful  to  his  people.  The  war 
was  looked  upon  in  this  light  by  the  Chinese;  it 
will  always  be  so  looked  upon  by  the  candid  his- 
torian, and  known  as  the  Opium  War.” 

Within  fifteen  years  after  this  first  war,  there 
was  another  one,  and  again  Great  Britain  came 
off  victorious.  China  had  to  pay  another  in- 
demnity, three  million  dollars,  and  five  more 
treaty  ports  were  opened  up.  By  the  terms  of  the 
Treaty  of  Tientsin,  the  sale  of  opium  in  China 
was  legalized  in  1858. 

From  a small  pamphlet,  “Opium:  England’s 


HISTORY  OF  THE  OPIUM  TRADE  IN  CHINA  69 

Coercive  Policy  and  Its  Disastrous  Results  in 
China  and  India”  by  the  Rev.  John  Liggins,  we 
find  the  following:  “As  a specimen  of  how  both 
wars  were  carried  on,  we  quote  the  following 
from  an  English  writer  on  the  bombardment  of 
Canton:  ‘Field  pieces  loaded  with  grape  were 
planted  at  the  end  of  long,  narrow  streets  crowded 
with  innocent  men,  women  and  children,  to  mow 
them  down  like  grass  till  the  gutters  flowed  with 
their  blood.’  In  one  scene  of  carnage,  the  Times 
correspondent  recorded  that  half  an  army  of 
10,000  men  were  in  ten  minutes  destroyed  by  the 
sword,  or  forced  into  the  broad  river.  “ The  Morn- 
ing Herald  ” asserted  that  “a  more  horrible  or  re- 
volting crime  than  this  bombardment  of  Canton 
has  never  been  committed  in  the  worst  ages  of  bar- 
baric darkness.” 

Naturally,  therefore,  after  the  termination  of 
these  two  wars,  China  gave  up  the  struggle.  She 
had  fought  valiantly  to  protect  her  people  from 
opium,  but  the  resources  of  a Christian  nation 
were  too  much  for  her.  Seeing  therefore  that  the 
opium  trade  was  to  be  forced  upon  her,  and  that 
her  people  were  doomed  to  degradation,  she  de- 
cided to  plant  poppies  herself.  There  should  be 
competition  at  least,  and  the  money  should  not 
all  be  drained  out  of  the  country.  Thus  it  came 
about  that  after  1858  extensive  tracts  of  land  were 
given  over  to  poppy  production.  Whole  provinces 
or  parts  of  provinces,  ceased  to  grow  grain  and 


70 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


Other  necessities,  and  diverted  their  rich  river 
bottoms  to  the  raising  of  opium.  Chinese  opium, 
however,  never  supplanted  Indian  opium,  being 
inferior  to  that  raised  in  the  rich  valley  of  the 
Ganges.  The  country  merely  had  double  quan- 
tities of  the  drug,  used  straight  or  blended,  to  suit 
the  purse  or  taste  of  the  consumer. 

Then,  in  1906,  the  incredible  happened.  After 
over  a hundred  years  of  steady  demoralization, 
with  half  her  population  opium  addicts,  or  worse 
still,  making  enormous  profits  out  of  the  trade, 
China  determined  to  give  up  opium.  In  all  his- 
tory, no  nation  has  ever  set  itself  such  a gigantic 
task,  with  such  a gigantic  handicap.  China,  a 
country  of  immense  distances,  with  scant  means  of 
communication;  with  no  common  language,  a 
land  where  only  the  scholars  can  read  and  write, 
suddenly  decided  to  free  herself  from  this  vice. 
The  Emperor  issued  an  edict  saying  that  in  ten 
years’  time  all  opium  traffic  must  cease,  and  an 
arrangement  was  made  with  Great  Britain  whereby 
this  might  be  accomplished.  To  the  honor  of 
America  be  it  said  that  we  assisted  China  in  this 
resolution.  We  agreed  to  see  her  through. 

A bargain  was  then  made  between  China  and 
Great  Britain,  in  1907,  China  agreeing  to  diminish 
poppy  cultivation  year  by  year  for  a period  of 
ten  years,  and  Great  Britain  agreeing  to  a pro- 
portional decrease  in  the  imports  of  Indian  opium. 
A three  years’  test  was  first  agreed  to,  a trial  of 


HISTORY  OF  THE  OPIUM  TRADE  IN  CHINA  7I 

China’s  sincerity  and  ability,  for  Great  Britain 
feared  that  this  was  but  a ruse  to  cut  off  Indian 
opium,  while  leaving  China’s  opium  alone  in  the 
field.  At  the  end  of  three  years,  however,  China 
had  proved  her  ability  to  cope  with  the  situation. 
Thus,  for  a period  of  ten  years,  both  countries 
have  lived  up  to  their  bargain,  the  amount  of 
native  and  foreign  opium  declining  steadily  in  a 
decreasing  scale.  April  i,  1917,  saw  the  end  of  the 
accomplishment. 

China’s  part  was  most  difficult.  In  the  remote, 
interior  provinces,  poppies  were  grown  surrepti- 
tiously, connived  at  by  corrupt  officials  who  made 
money  from  the  crops.  However,  drastic  laws 
were  enacted  and  severe  penalties  imposed  upon 
those  who  broke  them.  If  poppy  cultivation 
could  not  be  stopped,  England  would  not  hold  to 
her  end  of  the  bargain.  Not  only  was  there  a 
nation  of  addicts  to  deal  with,  but  these  could 
obtain  copious  supplies  of  opium  from  the  foreign 
concessions,  over  which  the  Chinese  had  no  con- 
trol. We  shall  show,  in  another  article,  to  what 
extent  this  was  carried  on.  Yet  somehow,  in 
some  manner,  the  impossible  happened.  Year  by 
year,  little  by  little,  one  province  after  another 
was  freed  from  poppy  cultivation,  until  in  1917, 
China  was  practically  free  from  the  native-grown 
drug,  and  foreign  importation  had  practically 
ended. 

In  this  manner,  first  by  large  smuggling,  then 


72 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


by  two  opium  wars,  was  China  drugged  with 
opium.  And  in  this  manner,  and  to  this  extent, 
has  she  succeeded  in  freeing  herself  from  the  curse. 
But  in  one  way,  she  is  not  free.  She  has  no  con- 
trol over  the  extra-territorial  holdings  of  Eu- 
ropean powers,  for  in  each  treaty  port  are  the 
foreign  concessions  already  mentioned — German, 
Austrian,  British,  French,  Russian.  And  in  these 
concessions,  opium  may  be  procured.  Simply 
by  crossing  an  imaginary  line,  in  such  cities  as 
Shanghai  and  Hongkong,  can  the  Chinese  buy 
as  much  opium  as  they  choose.  China  will  never 
be  rid  of  this  menace  till  she  is  rid  of  these  extra- 
territorial holdings.  Opium  shops,  licensed  by 
foreign  governments,  are  always  ready  to  supply 
her  people  with  the  forbidden  drug. 

We  say  that  the  China  market  is  closed.  So  it 
is,  in  one  way.  But  the  British  Opium  Monopoly 
is  not  ended.  The  year  1917  saw  a tremendous 
blow  dealt  to  the  British  opium  dealers,  but  other 
markets  will  be  found.  There  are  other  countries 
than  China  whose  inhabitants  can  be  taught  this 
vice.  The  object  of  this  discussion  is  to  consider 
these  other  countries,  and  to  see  to  what  extent 
the  world  is  menaced  by  this  possibility. 


XVI 


CONCLUSION 

There  are  many  people  who  advocate  the  use  of 
opium,  and  who  defend  the  policy  of  the  Opium 
Monopoly.  They  argue  that  it  is  not  harmful — if 
taken  in  moderation.  They  even  assert  that  it  is 
no  more  objectionable  than  alcohol  or  tobacco. 
Leaving  out  of  account,  therefore,  the  consensus 
of  opinion  of  the  medical  profession  as  to  the  evils 
of  habit-forming  drugs,  and  accepting  the  theory 
that  opium  is  harmless,  we  should  then  like  to  ask 
why  the  use  of  opium  is  so  carefully  restricted 
to  the  peoples  of  subject  states,  who  have  no  voice 
in  their  own  affairs.^  Why  should  the  benefits 
of  opium  be  confined  to  Oriental  races,  and  why 
should  not  the  white  race  be  given  the  same  op- 
portunities for  indulgence?  Is  there  any  reason 
for  this  discrimination?  As  a source  of  revenue,  it 
certainly  has  advantages.  Yet  curiously  enough, 
those  European  countries  which  derive  much  profit 
through  the  sale  of  opium  to  their  subject  races, 
seem  to  have  an  aversion  to  introducing  it  to  their 
people  at  home.  And  there  Is  a further  coincidence 
in  the  fact  that  none  of  the  self-governing  colonies 
of  European  countries — ^Australia,  New  Zealand 
and  Canada — permit  this  traffic.  It  appears  to  be 
only  the  subject  peoples,  whose  well-being  has 

73 


74 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


become  the  White  Man’s  Burden,  who  receive  the 
blessings  of  this  peculiar  form  of  altruism.  Is  it 
because  the  white  race  is  worth  preserving,  worth 
protecting,  and  because  subject  nations  are  fair 
game  for  exploitation  of  any  kind.? 

Another  argument  advanced  by  advocates  of 
Government  opium  is  that  the  Oriental  peoples 
are  “different” — that  opium  does  them  no  harm. 
Every  writer  on  the  subject  of  opium  In  China, 
produces  evidence  to  show  the  shocking  results 
upon  that  country,  during  the  hey-dey  of  the 
deluge.  The  complete  moral  degradation,  and 
economic  ruin  of  thousands  of  helpless  individuals. 
Nor  do  we  think  the  medical  profession  would 
agree  with  this  assumption  that  opium  is  harmless 
to  Orientals,  because  they  are  “different.”  Their 
only  real  difference  lies  in  their  helplessness  to 
protect  themselves  from  foreign  aggression. 

Another  argument  advanced  by  the  upholders 
of  the  Monopoly  is  that  the  Orientals  have  always 
been  users  of  opium,  that  they  like  it,  it  suits 
them,  it  would  be  unfair  to  deprive  them  of  it. 
We  have  seen  to  what  extent  the  Chinese  liked  It, 
and  how  It  was  forced  upon  them  by  two  wars. 
Not  until  they  were  completely  crushed,  and  had 
to  accept  the  terms  of  the  conquerer,  did  they 
submit.  It  can  hardly,  therefore,  be  called  a 
vice  indigenous  to  the  Chinese.  Japan  is  another 
Oriental  nation  that  disproves  this  argument. 
As  we  have  said  before,  there  are  no  opium  shops 


CONCLUSION 


75 


in  Japan,  and  the  sale  of  opium  is  not  conducted 
by  the  Japanese  Government.  On  the  contrary, 
the  Japanese  have  the  same  fear  of  this  drug  that 
a European  nation  has,  and  exercises  the  same 
precautions  to  protect  its  people.  But,  as  we 
have  said  before,  Japan  is  the  only  Oriental  na- 
tion that  has  not  been  subjugated  by  a European 
nation,  and  therefore  has  never  had  opium  thrust 
upon  her.  She  is  the  only  country  in  the  Far  East 
that  has  managed  to  preserve  her  sovereignty, 
and  has  never  been  subject  to  certain  blighting 
influences  of  European  culture. 

Another  exception  to  this  assumption  that  the 
Orientals  cannot  do  without  opium  lies  in  the 
Philippines.  When  America  acquired  those  islands 
some  twenty  years  ago,  our  first  act  was  to 
eliminate  the  opium  traffic,  which  had  been  es- 
tablished there  by  our  predecessors.  It  had  been 
in  existence  for  decades,  but  we  immediately  set 
about  to  abolish  it.  Root  and  branch  we  did  away 
with  it,  and  shed  no  crocodile  tears  as  to  the  “hard- 
ship” this  would  be  to  the  people  who  had  come 
under  our  protection.  We  wished  no  revenue  com- 
ing from  such  a source  as  this.  Yet  we  might 
have  cut  in  half  the  cost  of  our  Philippine  budget 
had  we  followed  the  example  set  by  other  nations. 
We  have  seen  that  certain  British  colonies,  Hong- 
kong and  the  Straits  Settlements,  for  example, 
derive  from  one- third  to  one-half  of  their  upkeep 
expenses  from  this  traffic.  But  we  refrained  from 


76 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


treating  our  Filipinos  in  this  manner.  We  are 
called  sentimentalists  out  in  the  East — at  such 
times  as  we  are  not  called  money-getters.  To-day, 
the  Philippines  are  very  nearly  ready  for  self- 
government.  Would  they  have  been  so  nearly 
ready  had  we  continued  to  drug  them  as  they  had 
been  drugged  before  we  took  possession.?  Drugged 
peoples  are  usually  docile  and  submissive — per- 
haps that  is  the  secret  of  much  of  the  successful 
colonizing,  about  which  we  hear  so  much. 

But  let  us  leave  aside  the  question  of  the  Ori- 
entals, and  whether  or  no  opium  is  good  for  them. 
We  recognize  quite  clearly  that  It  Is  not  good  for 
ourselves,  for  Americans.  We  recognize  that 
fact  quite  as  clearly  as  England  realizes  that  it  is 
not  good  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  British  Isles. 
Quite  as  clearly  as  France,  while  setting  up  opium 
shops  in  her  colony  of  Indo-China,  refuses  to 
establish  them  In  Paris  or  Marseilles.  America 
Is  unique  In  the  fact  that  although  we  have  co- 
lonial possessions,  we  do  not  have  a double  stand- 
ard of  morality.  We  attempt  to  throw  around  our 
colonies  the  same  safeguards  that  we  throw  around 
ourselves  at  home.  But  the  question  arises,  how 
successful  are  we  in  protecting  ourselves  at  home.? 
Not  particularly  so,  according  to  the  daily  press. 

How  great  the  danger  to  ourselves  was  recog- 
nized some  thirty-seven  years  ago  by  an  Episcopal 
missionary  to  China,  the  Rev.  John  Liggins.  In 
1882  he  published  a small  book,  already  referred 


CONCLUSION 


77 


to,  entitled:  “England’s  Coercive  Opium  Policy 
and  Its  Disastrous  Results  in  China  and  India.” 
The  preface  to  this  unheeded  warning  runs  thus. 
“Our  aim  in  this  sketch  is  to  present,  as  briefly 
as  possible,  the  most  important  facts  and  testi- 
monies concerning  a trafiic  which  is  as  disgraceful 
to  England  as  it  is  ruinous  to  China  and  hurtful 
to  India.  ...  It  is  also  of  the  highest  importance 
that  the  people  throughout  our  wide  domain 
should  be  aroused  concerning  the  new,  fascinating 
and  deadly  foe  which  has  entered  our  country 
through  the  Golden  Gate,  and  which  already 
numbers  its  victims  by  the  thousands,  and  will 
soon  do  so  by  the  tens  of  thousands.” 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Liggins  saw  it  coming — that 
danger  which  is  almost  ready  to  overwhelm  us 
to-day.  He  recognized  clearly  that  the  Opium 
Monopoly  of  that  great  nation  which  rules  nearly 
one-third  of  the  world — the  British  Empire — 
would  in  time  reach  further  and  further  afield 
for  new  victims.  It  is  too  lucrative  a trade  to  be 
confined  to  only  a few  countries.  Markets  must 
not  only  be  created  and  legalized  in  subject  states, 
but  new  ones  added  in  outside  countries,  through 
smuggling.  All  too  fatally  easy  of  accomplish- 
ment, and  so  profitable,  financially,  as  to  be  worth 
any  risk  and  effort.  The  prediction  as  to  our  own 
danger,  made  in  1882,  seems  to  be  abundantly 
realized. 

The  number  of  drug  addicts  in  America  to-day 


78 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


are  fairly  startling.  The  number  is  variously 
estimated  in  New  York  City  alone  as  from  ten 
thousand  to  one  hundred  thousand.  It  is  said 
that  there  may  be  a million  in  the  country.  Yet 
these  figures  are  the  merest  guesswork,  by  no 
means  substantiated.  Certain  it  is  that  the  cam- 
paign of  the  New  York  Health  Department  has 
uncovered  thousands  of  them,  and  any  other 
city  that  chose  to  do  so,  could  produce  facts 
equally  startling. 

The  laws  on  our  statute  books  concerning  the 
prescription  of  narcotic  drugs  are  powerless  to 
deal  with  the  situation.  It  is  shooting  into  the 
air  to  try  to  “regulate”  this  condition.  It  is  as 
thoroughly  well  “regulated”  as  it  can  ever  be  by 
the  Harrison  Anti-Narcotic  Act,  a Federal  Law 
whose  enforcement  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Internal 
Revenue  Department.  By  the  provisions  of  this 
Act,  every  pound  of  opium  or  its  derivatives 
that  comes  into  this  country,  legitimately,  is 
accounted  for,  and  its  distribution,  both  whole- 
sale and  retail,  made  a matter  of  record.  Thus, 
the  Board  of  Trade  returns  show  the  amount  im- 
ported by  the  big  wholesale  drug  houses.  These 
must  account  for  their  sales  to  the  retail  drug 
stores,  and  the  amounts  must  tally.  The  drug 
stores  can  only  sell  narcotic  drugs  on  a physician’s 
prescription,  and  the  prescriptions  are  kept  on 
file,  and  the  quantity  sold  must  correspond  to  the 
quantity  called  for  by  these  prescriptions,  as 


CONCLUSION 


79 


well  as  to  the  amount  obtained  from  the  whole- 
sale drug  house.  In  prescribing  narcotics,  the 
physician  is  obliged  to  write  his  prescription  in 
triplicate — one  copy  for  his  own  protection,  one 
copy  for  the  local  druggist,  and  one  copy  to  be 
filed  with  the  health  department.  Nor  is  he  al- 
lowed to  prescribe  narcotics  for  an  addict  without 
decreasing  the  dosage.  His  prescription  cannot 
call  for  thirty  grains  of  morphia  day  after  day — 
it  must  show,  in  a chronic  case  of  this  kind,  a 
daily  diminution  of  the  amount  prescribed,  thus 
indicating  a desire  to  get  the  patient  off  the  drug, 
eventually.  All  these  records  are  kept  on  file, 
open  to  inspection  whenever  an  accounting  is  de- 
manded, consequently  any  leak  can  be  instantly 
accounted  for.  This  Harrison  Act  is  as  com- 
prehensive and  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible,  yet 
it  does  not  cover  the  situation.  By  this  means, 
violations  can  be  detected,  whether  on  the  part 
of  an  unscrupulous  physician  or  druggist,  or  even 
the  wholesale  house,  but  these  violations  are 
only  occasional.  The  root  of  the  evil  remains  un- 
touched. 

At  one  time,  it  was  believed  that  carelessness 
on  the  part  of  the  physician  was  chiefly  responsible 
for  creating  drug  addicts,  but  the  recent  campaign 
against  violators  of  the  Harrison  Act  seems  to 
have  completely  exonerated  him  of  this  charge. 
For  one  patient  who  becomes  a drug  addict  while 
under  a doctor’s  care,  through  the  accidental 


8o 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


misuse  of  morphia,  there  are  a hundred  who  form 
the  habit  through  other  ways.  It  is  not  the  oc- 
casional, accidental  victim,  given  morphia  for  the 
relief  of  pain,  which  is  creating  our  thousands  of 
drug  users.  It  is  not  the  occasional  unscrupulous 
physician  who  is  responsible.  If  this  was  all,  we 
could  easily  cope  with  these  unwitting  abuses, 
or  even  deliberate  instances  of  misuse.  But  the 
question  goes  deeper  than  this. 

The  Opium  Monopoly  was  not  established  for 
any  humane  or  altrustic  purpose.  It  was  not  es- 
tablished to  provide  the  medical  profession  with  a 
drug  for  the  relief  of  pain,  to  ease  the  agony  of 
the  injured  and  wounded,  or  to  calm  the  last  days 
of  those  dying  with  an  incurable  disease.  This, 
which  may  be  called  the  legitimate  use  of  opium, 
is  not  the  object  of  the  Opium  Monopoly.  Used 
only  in  this  manner,  there  would  be  no  money  in 
it.  It  is  only  when  opium  is  produced  in  quanti- 
ties far  in  excess  of  the  legitimate  needs  of  the 
world  that  it  becomes  worth  while — to  the  Opium 
'^Monopoly.  That  Monopoly  was  established  not 
to  relieve  pain  and  suffering,  but  with  the  deliber- 
ate intention  of  creating  pain  and  suffering,  by 
creating  drug  victims  by  the  thousand.  It  is 
these  hundreds  of  thousands  of  customers  that 
are  profitable.  The  menace  to  America  lies  in  the 
large  amounts  of  opium  which  are  smuggled  into 
the  country  for  this  purpose.  Boys  and  girls  of 
sixteen  and  seventeen  first  acquire  this  habit 


CONCLUSION 


8i 


through  curiosity,  through  association  with  what 
they  call  “bad  company,”  peddlers  who  first 
offer  it  free,  as  a gift,  well  knowing  that  after 
a few  doses  the  fatal  habit  will  be  formed.  Where 
do  these  vendors  obtain  their  supplies? 

The  daily  papers  often  contain  suggestive  para- 
graphs. Thus  the  “ New  York  Times,”  under  date 
of  February  28, 1919:“  Seize  Opium  in  Schenectady. 
Opium,  valued  by  Federal  officials  at  $10,000 
was  seized  in  Schenectady,  and  four  Chinamen 
were  arrested  in  a raid  on  Chinese  places  of  busi- 
ness on  Centre  street  today.  The  Federal  of- 
ficials expressed  the  belief  that  opium  had  been 
smuggled,  and  that  Schenectady  is  the  distributing 
point  for  this  part  of  the  State.” 

An  item  in  the  “ Seattle  Union  Record,”  of 
June  24,  1919,  gives  us  cause  for  further  con- 
sideration. 

BRITISH  DRUG  SHIP  HELD  BY  UNITED 
STATES 

Fine  of  $49,265  Assessed  for  Bringing  “Dope” 
TO  America 

Liner  Allowed  to  Move  Under  Bond 
No  Arrests  Made,  Though  Booze  Is  Found  Aboard 

No  arrests  were  made  up  to  Tuesday  noon  in  con- 
nection with  the  enormous  seizure  of  opium,  cocaine 
and  liquor  on  the  Blue  Funnel  liner  Cyclops,  although 
the  investigation  is  being  continued  by  federal  officials. 


82 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


The  ship  has  been  seized  and  a fine  of  $49,265  has  been 
assessed  against  her  for  having  drugs  not  listed  in  the 
ship’s  manifest. 

United  States  District  Attorney  Robert  C.  Saunders 
filed  a libel  Monday  night  against  the  Cyclops,  the 
boat  being  seized  later  by  the  customs  service.  Bond 
was  fixed  at  $100,000,  or  twice  the  fine.  The  Fidelity 
Surety  Company  filed  the  bond  Monday.  The  ship 
was  released  Tuesday  morning. 

A civil  libel  suit  may  be  filed  against  Capt.  W.  Dun- 
can, holding  him  responsible  for  the  liquor  found  on 
the  ship.  Captain  Duncan,  questioned  Monday  by 
customs  officials,  claimed  to  know  nothing  about  the 
contraband. 

The  result  of  Monday’s  checking  of  the  opium  and 
cocaine  showed  that  the  seizure  amounted  to  778  tins 
of  opium,  670  ounces  of  cocaine  and  16  ounces  of  mor- 
phine. 

A small  paragraph  in  a New  York  paper,  dated 
June  12,  1919,  reads  thus:  “Two  New  Yorkers 
jailed  for  smuggling  opium.  Pleas  of  guilty  to 
charges  of  opium  smuggling  were  entered  in  the 
Federal  Court  today  by  Albertus  Schneitzer  and 
Maxwell  Auerbach,  of  New  York.  They  were 
fined  $500  each,  and  sent  to  Atlanta  penitentiary, 
the  former  for  two  years,  and  the  latter  for  one 
year.  The  men  were  arrested  in  connection  with 
the  seizure  of  opium  on  the  Canadian  border.” 

We  cannot  grapple  with  our  problem  unless  we 
face  the  facts;  if  we  ignore  the  source  of  supply 
and  distribution,  and  the  reasons  for  this  immense 


CONCLUSION 


83 


over-production  of  opium  on  the  part  of  the 
British  Opium  Monopoly.  The  anti-narcotic  laws 
on  our  statute  books  are  powerless  to  protect 
us.  With  Canada,  a British  province,  to  the  north, 
and  all  Mexico  on  the  south,  what  chance  have  we 
against  such  exposure.^  Of  what  use  to  send  two 
smugglers  to  the  penitentiary,  when  at  the  Cal- 
cutta opium  sales,  once  a month  opium  is  auc- 
tioned off  under  the  auspices  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, to  be  disposed  of  as  the  buyers  may  see  fit.? 
Much  of  it,  as  we  have  seen,  goes  to  those  helpless 
states  and  colonies  which  have  no  control  over  their 
own  affairs,  where  the  opium  traffic  is  conducted 
under  the  administration  of  the  alien  government. 
Much  of  the  rest  of  it  goes  out  for  smuggling 
purposes,  to  be  distributed  in  devious,  round- 
about, underhand  channels  throughout  the  world. 
We  are  coming  in  for  our  share  in  this  distribu- 
tion. 

We  feel  that  our  country  is  in  grave  peril.  Our 
politicians  and  our  diplomats  have  been  too  care- 
ful all  these  years,  to  speak  of  this  business,  through 
fear  of  offending  a powerful  nation.  But  we  feel 
that  the  time  has  now  come  to  speak.  England 
has  been  relying  upon  our  silence  to  “get  away 
with  it.”  Upon  our  ignorance,  and  upon  that 
silence  which  gives  consent.  But  in  this  new, 
changed  world,  reborn  out  of  the  blood  and  agony 
of  the  great  war,  is  it  not  time  to  practice  some  of 
the  decencies  which  we  have  proclaimed  so  loudly .? 


84 


THE  OPIUM  MONOPOLY 


As  we  have  said  before,  no  stronger  opponents 
of  this  policy  are  to  be  found  than  among  a sec- 
tion of  the  people  of  England  Itself.  We  look  to 
them  to  join  us,  In  this  great  issue,  and  we  feel 
that  we  shall  not  look  in  vain. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


Date  Due 


Aprl5'33ff 

3 •sa 

9 

Jun2<‘'35F 

RSep79 

g9Ci9'3:: 

■ -f 

MAY  5 ’4' 

i 

1 

i 

L.  B.  Cat.  No.  1137 

178.8 


L235E  117532 


